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Friday, February 21 2025
Check out our devos below that flow through this truth. The early church grew and prospered through prayer and perseverance. May that be us as well. What's God whispering to you? How does He want to use your testing, trials and stretching to grow you and His Kingdom? What will you do about that?
Good Morning House of Prayer for the Nations. May we strive to become just that. May we develop prayer times with and for each other, our community, nation and for revival. That is a passion God has instilled in me. And prayer is critical for us to hear, release, follow and for God to move in and through us. Check out the blogs below on prayer. Join me in praying through them.
Harvest Prayer: 10 ways to pray for your pastor: Ten Ways to Pray for Pastors to become Catalysts for Prayer
Connection Prayer
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February 11 - A Life of Prayer – Together
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Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. (5:13-16, NAB)
Sharing of one’s concerns could be seen as complaining, attention-getting, or pleas for sympathy. To come to church was a time to show oneself off at one’s best. In public worship some of the expectation was to look good, as if everything was all right even when it was not.
In this context, the notion of the church as a community was not fostered in my own spiritual life. “We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear” was not as normative as “Before our Father’s throne, we pour our ardent prayer; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.” Dominant was the sharing of personal concerns with God possible through the work of Christ, private prayer; much less fostered was the notion of sharing concerns with the community and having the community also pray on behalf of the person (praying together). Of course, when someone was in the hospital, the prayer of the community was formally offered. But in my day-to-day life, most everything of a deep personal nature was between me and God.
At times, prayer and praise is an individual response. At other times, it is a response within the community. Mutual confession of sins and prayer for one another is considered to be a vehicle God in Christ uses for healing. God’s Word, the voice of the Church, and our prayers belong together. So we must now speak of common prayer. Bonhoeffer states: “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they may ask, it will be done for them of Me in heaven” (Mt. 18:19). There is no part of common devotions that raises such serious difficulties and trouble as does common prayer, for here we must ourselves begin to speak. We have heard God’s Word, and we have been permitted to join in the hymn of the Church; but now we are to pray to God as a fellowship, and this prayer must really be our word, our prayer for this day, for our work, for our fellowship, for the particular needs and sins that oppress us in common, and for the persons who are committed to our care.”
Father, You desire to hear my voice lifted up before Your throne, and You also desire to hear Your people praying together in community. May we, Your Church, discover the loveliness of the fellowship of corporate prayer as we set aside our discomfort and uncertainty. Help us to emulate the Church in the book of Acts, who gathered together constantly and continually to seek Your face. Forgive our pride and strengthen our resolve to lift our sins, needs and intercessions before You as the Body of Christ.
--Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 46, Praying Together Vs. Private Prayer by Bruce M. Hartung). This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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Praying through the President’s First 31 Days
Day 23
Pray that our president would exemplify a spirit of meekness as he addresses crucial issues daily.
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
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- Praise God that he is completely trustworthy and that he has never failed anyone (Jn. 14:1-23).
- Thank God that Jesus Christ is preparing a place for you at this very moment.
- Confess any reluctance to trust God in everything.
- Commit yourself to living with your heart as Christ’s home.
- Ask the Lord to do great things through you in the power of the ascended Lord.
- Ask that our society will respect the value of human life at every stage of life. Pray especially for people who today are making decisions about the life of another.
Prayer Pointer
“Trouble and perplexity drive me to prayer and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble.” —Philippe Melanchthon
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2025 is a free devotional published daily by OneCry Prayer. Find more resources at www.onecry.com
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TWFYT:
ODB:
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For years, Evan struggled with an addiction that kept him from drawing close to God. How can I be worthy of His love? he wondered. So, while he kept going to church, he felt that there was an unbridgeable chasm that kept him separated from God.
Yet, whenever Evan prayed earnestly for something, God seemed to answer him. God also sent people to encourage and comfort him in difficult times. After some years, Evan realized God was constantly pursuing him and showing that He’d always loved and cared for him, and that’s when he began to trust in God’s forgiveness and love. “Now, I know that I’m forgiven and can let God draw me close to Him, even though I’m still struggling with my addiction,” he said.
Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us of a God who pursued His people. “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them,” He said, vowing to rescue them and provide for them abundantly (v. 11). This was after their human leaders had abandoned them, and they themselves disobeyed their true Shepherd (vv. 1-6). Whether we’re helpless victims of circumstances or struggling with the consequences of our own sin, God pursues us in love. In His mercy and grace, He draws us back to Him. If you’ve forgotten God, turn back to Him. Then, as He leads, continue to walk with Him each day.
By Leslie Koh
REFLECT & PRAY
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How has God shown you that He cares for you and loves you? How can you let Him draw you closer to Him?
Dear God, thank You for always loving me despite my struggles and doubts. Please teach me to trust in Your love anew.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Ezekiel was both a priest and a prophet, prophesying from 593 to 571 bc. He was among the ten thousand captives brought out of Judea to Babylon in 597 bc, which included officers, soldiers, skilled workers, artisans, and eighteen-year-old King Jehoiachin and his family (2 Kings 24:10-15; 2 Chronicles 36:9). In Babylon, Ezekiel had his first vision at age thirty by the Kebar River (Ezekiel 1:1-3). He prophesied to a people who desperately needed to hear from God. The book’s main themes include the holiness of God and the sin of the people (36:22-23), which included judgment on those who turn away from God and mercy and hope for those who repent and trust in Him. During Ezekiel’s captivity (586 bc ), Babylon besieged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and burned down the city, carrying away the remnant of the people. The captivity lasted seventy years (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:21).
Alyson Kieda |
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UR: Constant Motion
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. - John 3:8 (NIV)
As I sit on the patio, the breeze brushes against my face, and I can feel the wind and hear it as it swirls through the trees. I have learned to see and enjoy God in everything. Like a gentle breeze, God’s presence is all around. God fills the space around us and is in constant motion — always working, always breathing life into us.
Scripture tells us in 1 Kings 19 that Elijah was disturbed and confused after a spiritual battle that sapped his strength. As he stood at the mouth of the cave where he had taken refuge, God spoke in a gentle whisper to him that gave Elijah new strength and direction that his life needed. No matter what life brings, we can be certain that God is in constant motion, filling the space around us, as the impulse of the Holy Spirit inspires and guides us.
Today's Prayer
Spirit of the living God, teach us to recognize signs of your presence all around us. Even when we do not know the direction your Holy Spirit is taking, inspire us to believe and follow where you lead. Amen.
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