I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!

 

Thursday, October 15, 2026

I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!

Luke 22:31-32

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

          As parents of adult children, we must learn to deliver them into the capable hands of God. I am as guilty as any of trying to buffer them from every harm and hurt.

          This is my prayer not only for my adult children and grandchildren but for you as well. “He knows you and your situation. I can't see far enough to guide you, I am too blind, so I will try to give that task to Him. I can't sustain you, I am too poor, so I have brought your debts to Him. I am too weak to protect you, so I have dispatched His angels to guard you. I have no balm to soothe your wounds, so I have appealed to the great physician. I love you, but I have asked for His perfect love. May you be blessed today.”

          We can’t fully understand the drama that is unseen when we pray! It is not weakness to pray,  it is strength! It is our greatest treasure, our most renewable and inexhaustible resource. It never fails to bring God’s best. The answer may sometimes disappoint us, but only because we can’t know what God knows and see what God sees. All His ways are benevolent. He is not capricious but purposeful. Trust Him today!

Dan 10:11-12

11 And he [the angel] said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

Dear Father, hear the prayers of your children today. Protect them from danger. Fight their battles for them and win. Give them their daily bread. Lead them in a plain path for Thy name’s sake. AMEN

 

WHAT IS BLASPHEMY?

 

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

WHAT IS BLASPHEMY?

1 Tim 1:19-20

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

          The dictionary definition of blasphemy is “the act or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things.” The Greek is blasphemeo which literally means “to vilify; to speak impiously.” Ah, but neither definition seems to satisfy us today because it is not a word we normally use – although blasphemy is all around us.

          Dr. Albert Barnes comments: “The truth thus taught is, that people make shipwreck of their faith by not keeping a good conscience. They love sin. They follow the leadings of passion. They choose to indulge in carnal propensities.”

          “Delivering one unto Satan” seems to be an apostolic prerogative. However, we also may deliver someone unto Satan through simple fatigue of ministry! We can, because of their rejection, simply abandon our efforts of evangelism and good counsel. Their rejection and stubbornness have worn us out and we simply allow them to go their own way.

          Sin – often referred to today as “bad choices” – incurs its own punishment. Sin is destructive. Sin’s wage is death. No apostolic curse is needed. All one must do is to allow the sinner to continue in his own way. He will destroy himself soon enough.

Hos 7:13-14

13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart …

Dear Lord, let me exhaust myself in ministry even to those who blaspheme. Thank you for always standing ready to hear our cry of repentance. AMEN

 

WHEN DUTIES OVERWHELM

 

Monday, October 12, 2026

WHEN DUTIES OVERWHELM

Matt 14:14

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Several times Jesus asked His disciples to partner with him in relieving suffering. Once He told them to give the multitude something to eat. Yet another time He asked them to pray that laborers would be provided. What can we do when our sympathies overwhelm our resources?

Five times in the New Testament it is recorded that Jesus was “moved with compassion.” Matthew mentions three occasions and Mark points out two. The Greek word that requires an English phrase to translate is the word splagchnizomai and means “to have the bowels yearn” or to feel sympathy or pity. Certainly, we have all felt that knot in our belly that is somehow connected to strong emotions!

Jesus was able to see a person’s need and pain. It is amazing that he was not constantly weeping! He saw the multitude without direction or care. He saw the sick in need of healing. He saw the unpaid debt that needed to be forgiven and the leper that needed to be cleansed. He noticed it all and his “bowels” turned over and over in sympathy.

There was never a situation that Jesus did not respond to with prayer no matter how large or small the problem. When he missed the fellowship of the Father and the comfort of Heaven he prayed. When he was hungry and tired, he prayed. If he was tempted, he prayed. When criticized he prayed. When hanging on the cross he prayed. There was never an emergency that would not yield to prayer.

Dear Lord, I run to you this morning with a long list of needs and concerns. I am doing what you did when overwhelmed. Lord, please meet the needs of my friends today. AMEN