Prayer and Thanksgiving

In this verse the two words prayer and thanksgiving are mentioned.  Colossians 4:2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Cannon Beach Sunset

Cannon Beach Sunset

Here is something I forget to do often, and that is to thank The Lord for all He has done. God has done so much for us. He created us. He sent His son to save and redeem us. God gave us life and breath. He gave us joy and happiness (and some sorrow). Jesus will come again one day and bring us into the New Jerusalem (called heaven by some).

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Cannon Beach, Oregon

 

Morning Time

Time alone with God every morning before you start the day can make a big difference.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

The morning time is the best time to connect with God. Lets all concerns and fears be ignored. Just come to God with prayer, Bible reading, devotional reading, or anything that inspires you to touch and contact God. Some mornings can be difficult because of things that just bother us. Life is full of anxieties and things that just upset us. Some concerns just do not go away.  Right in the middle find a way to pray what God is praying. Don’t fret, just pray. Spending time with God helps us trust Him.

Psalms 57:7
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.

Morning Prayer

Psalm 88:13 But, I, unto thee, O Yahweh, have cried for help, And, in the morning, my prayer will confront thee!  The morning is the best time to spend time reading the Bible and praying.

Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee, Israel

Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee, Israel

Prayer and reading can set the day in the correct direction. The best time to pray is in the morning.

Prayer is a relationship with God that comes from spending time with God. The best time is in the morning before 50 thousand other things distract us. Morning time sets the day in the correct mode.

The Bible verse in Psalms is from the Rotherham emphasized translation.

Life and Peace

In Romans chapter 8 we come to a great verse on life and peace. After Paul in Romans spends many chapters on God’s condemnation of sinful man, and the justification only available through what God did in Jesus, we now come to chapter eight, a chapter about living in the Spirit. No matter what man could do to rescue himself, only God’s work could do this. Man with his great desire to please God, just cannot satisfy God’s requirement. Only the work that Jesus did on the cross could satisfy what God requires.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

So in Romans chapter eight we come to: Romans 8:6  For the mind set on the flesh is death; but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. This means to walk in the Spirit by following the Lord brings peace in our life. So peace comes by walking with the Lord.

Columbia River, railroad tracks

Columbia River, railroad tracks

Theology is Locked

Our theology cannot be changed, it is based on the Bible.

Columbia River, Washington, Oregon

Columbia River, from Washington side, looking towards Oregon

So you could say our theology is locked, but methods can be changed.  Look in the four Gospels and the book of Acts how God used different methods to connect with different situations.  Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did not use the same words or prayer in the many situations.  The Holy Spirit in the book of Acts (written by Luke) did everything in a different way, but always exalting Jesus and the Gospel.

Early Prayer in Psalms

Psalms 4:1
Answer Me When I Call
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
A Psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Come Lord Jesus

This is the prayer at the end of the Bible. It is the last prayer in the whole Bible. It is the second to the last verse of the Bible. It is the last prayer and almost the last verse in the book of Revelation. It is the finale, the last prayer made by God in the Bible. The final prayer “Come Lord Jesus”. What a conclusion to invite the Lord Lesus into everything in our life. Not just for Him to come again, as He will one day in His second coming, but to actually let Him be Lord in our lives. So let Him come in and bring our lives back to what He wants to do in us and through us.

Spokane River near Downtown in Spring

Spokane River near Downtown in Spring

God is real, a living person, the creator of the universe, the designer of the atom and DNA. He designed every solar system and every living thing on the earth. So He has plans for our life and what we do. So just pray this final prayer in the Bible from Revelation 22:2o  “Come Lord Jesus”

Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

To get a few more points on this topic, see the blog article on Jonah – When God speaks, He eventually gets His way.