John Pape Online Blog

By Stephen Johns

Being a Christian you have this amazing gift of being able to interact with the Most High God! God is in our lives in every way possible directing our paths. Amazing, and what amazes me further is the fact that we get to speak with our Creator on a continual basis, day by day, hour by hour, even down to the second if we choose so. This act is called prayer.

I am asked quite frequently by Christians, “How do I pray?” I believe there are many ways to pray, but I would like to discuss one which I believe to be the most natural way to pray.

First, I want you to imagine that you are at your childhood home. You get up in the morning as you do everyday and you can smell breakfast cooking and your Mom singing in the kitchen. Your Dad is drinking coffee in the kitchen. You walk downstairs and there is evidence of them being all around you but you barely acknowledge them. Time passes through the day. You have lunch, maybe saying hi and thanking your parents for the food exactly as you did the day before. More time passes as you do your chores. Soon the afternoon passes with no interaction. It’s night time, you sit for dinner and again possibly saying thanks for the food. Night has fallen and you watch a T.V. show and go to bed. Just before you retire for the evening you tell your parents, “How thou art great and thou art wonderful parents” and as you are speaking you gently fall asleep in mid-sentence!

Sound a little strange? As abundant as your parents are in your life you barely communicate with them and when you do, you use strange words unlike your typical rhetoric through the day!? Yet this is how God is often treated by us. Avoided most of the day and spoken to with ready made cookie cutter prayers.

There are many reasons that we may not pursue God in prayer more often. One reason is that we may feel vain in thinking that we can actually speak to the “Great I Am” without using specific times like dinner, and bedtime, and using formidable words like thou and thee. However, this is not true.

One of my favorite names for God is Abba or as it could break down, “Daddy – a loving and trusting Father.” And He wants us to come to him on a continual basis. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to, “Pray without ceasing.” If it is suggested that I can pray without ceasing, then every second must be suitable for prayer. There would not be a specific time or place that would be more suitable for prayer, meaning our communication lines are wide open and our Father is ready to hear us any moment through the day.

Understand and recognize that your “Heavenly Daddy” is with you never leaving 24/7. He is there in the good and the bad, thick and thin and He wants you to tell Him about it in your own words, crying out if need be! So how do you pray? Start by just opening your mouth and your heart and in your own words – pray.

For more on how you can participate in personal growth and help improve the lives of the unfortunate and downtrodden please contact us at the web-site below.
http://www.mylifechange.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Johns
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Absolute-Best-Form-of-Communication&id=2867111

Technorati Tags: Bible, communion, God, Jesus, ministry, prayer

By Edwin Joseph Sotomango Villagomez

How do you define a ministry? Is it about supporting every church activity and gathering? Or joining the music team? Or is it about being active in church evangelism programs? etc…

As I analyze the term “Ministry”, it seems that there will be 2 types:

1. General Ministry – this is the type of ministry where most people get joined with. Just like what the term implies, this is intended for the general public who is interested. For example, music team, ushering team, pastor support team, evangelism team and many more.
2. Personal Ministry – this is not about any other people, its all about you. We all have our own calling, own destiny to live in, own skill to use and develop, and own life to dedicate for God.

God has a very unique plan for all of us. Hard to imagine and think of but easy to know especially if we will truly seek God.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:3-8

It clearly states that we all have our own spiritual gifts to nurture and use everyday. We may have different capabilities but what matters most is that we all use it to fulfill God’s plan in our lives.

Daily Devotion Conclusion:

God will judge us not based from all those things we did but on those things we obeyed. If you still don’t know yet your spiritual gift, try seeking God because it will be the only solution.

You may start by sharing His marvelous Word. Believe me, we are all called to share the Gospel. It is a fact that you should consider.

Edwin Joseph is a former self help and personal development writer which is now focused on writing christian devotionals which aims to share the Word of God online.

To read daily devotionals, visit http://www.InstantDevotion.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/instantdevotion

Technorati Tags: Bible, encourgement, ministry, Personal Relationship, Romans 12

By Angela Mwema

Mathew 9:35-37

When Jesus was preaching the word to the people, many came from all parts of the world to see him and hear from him. Most expected for God to move in there lives and break them free from the bondage that suppressed them. At one time, he looked at them and saw what they had to go through to just come and be ministered to by him. Some even fainted from hunger. He was moved with compassion for them and declared that the harvest was plenteous but the workers were few. He said, “Pray you therefore the Lord of the Harvest send forth laborers into the harvest.”

Jesus Our Lord

Today, the same situation is being experienced all over the world. People are hungry and thirsty for God. Some cannot even afford to own the Bible. Some are too poor to afford any real investment in the true and living word. You are needed in reaching out to these people. God wants you to go to them for you can afford it. As Christians, we are all called to advance the word of God in one way or another.

It’s your duty to know how you are supposed to do this. Have you been called to minister the word or assist in the ministration? Note that everything and everybody is very important in the work of God. Whatever way God wants you to assist in taking the gospel to the four corners of the earth, make sure you obey him for you will never find personal gratification if you are not in his will. Realize that spreading the Gospel is number one priority to God. It should be your top priority too.

Angela Mwema is a messenger to the world with the true and living word of God. Please visit her site for more spiritual nourishment. This is http://angiepages.com/2009/08/24/everything-we-do-as-youths-will-come-back-to-us/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angela_Mwema
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Workers-Are-Few&id=2908101

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, God, harvest, Jesus, Life, Matthew, ministry, prayer