praise Archives - Page 4 of 4

So Much More to be Thankful For

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Dorci

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100

Yes, we have much to be thankful for. We can all look around and see the many ways we’re blessed. But as God’s children, we have so much more. Right now we still most easily see with our eyes, but God knows that the temporary things of this life will leave us wanting, and so He continually invites us to see with our hearts.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

And what we do not yet see is all God is building for us, inside our hearts and souls, and inside His kingdom that is to come – our future and forever home with Him.

No matter what’s going on in our lives right now – the pain, the heartache, the sickness, the missing of our loved ones – by God’s Spirit we can choose to see with the eyes of our hearts all God has done, is doing, and will continue to do.

Through our struggles God draws near to us, and calls us to draw nearer to Him. He speaks to us in our pain; He loves us in our sickness, comforts us in our grief, and has filled us with a deep and lasting joy nothing can take way. Through it all He builds a powerful faith on the foundation of Christ that will bring us a future reward we can only dream of, for now. Those are the true blessings so easily overlooked, yet will bring us a future reward that will outshine anything we can see with our eyes.

We can join as one voice with our brothers and sisters in Christ and look up. Shout for joy to the Lord for His magnificent love He’s showered on us, for sending His Son to die in our place, for filling us with His Spirit to comfort us, minister to us, heal and restore us, lead us, give us wisdom and peace, and to give us gifts to use to bless the Body.

To preserve us until the day we see the Lord face to face, and to be filled with the hope that He’s prepared for us a home with Him where we will live in peace and safety with no end.

We can enter into worship with thanksgiving, not just for the things we see, but for the riches we have in Christ, both now and waiting for us.

God’s made us His own and called us His children, and we know that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Nothing on earth compares to that, and for that we can truly give thanks.

What are you thankful for?

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Comfort

Posted on September 2, 2018September 2, 2018 by Dorci

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. We praise you that you are at once righteous and compassionate. That you are holy and yet you draw near to us, and draw us near to you so that you may stand with us in our trials, identify with us in our pain, and comfort us in our suffering.

Thank you for the peace your comfort brings our hearts, the courage it gives us to walk in the midst of our trouble another day, and the compassion it fills our own hearts with for others who are suffering, too.

Lord, as you lay hurting or struggling people on hearts, or bring them into the scope of our lives, may you continue to fill our hearts with your grace and compassion and the boldness to step out in faith and comfort them with the comfort you’ve given us. May your love anoint our hearts with mercy and may we have deep and tender love for one another.

Help us continue to abide in you – never letting go for one second – so that you are glorified as the comfort you give us and that we share with one another is a bright light in the middle of a dark world. May our lives, as your Spirit flows through us, magnify your name and draw others to you. In the precious name of Jesus, the Savior of the world, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for the Spirit

Posted on August 12, 2018August 12, 2018 by Dorci

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9

Heavenly Father, we praise you. Thank you for calling us out of the darkness and, through your Son, adopting us as your own dearly loved children. And then you called us, as brothers and sisters, into a sacred life to carry out your will, to show the world your light and your love. Father, give us continued passion for living and breathing and walking in your Spirit, that we would never be tempted to live out this calling of a spiritual life in our own strength. We are called to think differently, act differently, and speak differently than the world and it’s only by your Spirit that we can do that with truth and integrity. Search our hearts and show us where we need to get right with you through repentance and obedience, and help us to do that. And then we pray your Spirit will fill us to overflowing with so much love and light and boldness of the good news that countless people will hear your calling, turn to you, fall to their knees in repentance, receive your forgiveness, and join us as your chosen ones. Father, our world desperately needs you, and we ask for a renewal of your Spirit within and upon all of us and for a revival of your salvation throughout the world. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Saturday Song – Clear the Stage

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Dorci

May true worship of the Living God ring from our hearts.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Unrivaled Trust

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Dorci

“Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord, my soul.

I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
He remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.”
Psalm 146

Heavenly Father, we praise you today, from the depths of our souls we praise you. We praise you for all you’ve done, all you are doing, and all you will do. We put all our trust, hope, and confidence in you and in no one else. Help us to see where we have put our dependence in someone over you and may we re-place it where it belongs – in you, in your perfect will, in your plans, in your love for us as our good, good Father. If you choose to use someone to do good in our lives, we praise you knowing it was by your will and prompting. Thank you for providing for every need we have, especially our spiritual freedom, and with it, your peace, both now and forever. Help us be a light pointing those you put in our path to you, so they, through your Son, can also have an intimate relationship with you and along with it the confident assurance of your grace and mercy to be their provision, their portion, their all. You are our hope, and we will put no other in your place. We pray in the name of our El Shaddai – the All-Sufficient God, our El Roi – the God Who Sees Me, our Jehovah-Rapha – the God Who Heals, and our El Sali – the God of my Strength, through your Son Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer of Praise for Our Portion

Posted on July 1, 2018June 30, 2018 by Dorci

“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 16:5-8

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you, Lord, that of all the treasures in the earth, you are by far the greatest, and we are blessed beyond measure that you have given us the treasure of your presence, your love, your forgiveness, and your salvation. There is nothing else we need or want but you. We praise you for the peace you’ve poured into our lives, especially at those times when a storm threatens to take us, but your peace delivers us. We praise you for counseling us when we don’t know which way to go, what to do, or what to say. No matter how long we wait, you always lead us at just the right time. We listen for your voice as we patiently wait and learn to be still before you. There are many distractions in this life, but we will keep our eyes fixed on you, remaining steadfast until we see you face to face. You are our portion, and in you we have everything. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Peace

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Dorci

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9

Heavenly Father, you are praiseworthy. You are true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable, and we choose to think about you and all the ways you’ve shown us your goodness. You’ve rescued us time and time again. You forgive all our sins and have removed them as far as the east is from the west, and remember them no more. Your grace is always upon your children, and your mercy, too.

You have promised to prepare a place for us with you and to come again for us and take us with you where you are, where there is no more crying or pain or suffering. Your love sustains us, teaches us, and matures us until the day when your wisdom says it’s time to come home. Lord, in all these constant ponderings throughout the day and night, you give us peace, and we praise you. You know the trouble we face in this world, but we know you’ve already overcome it. Help us cling to you, both in the times when things are going well, and in times when things are hard.

Give us the strength to turn to you when the enemy is whispering in our ears that you don’t care. That you can’t possibly love us after what we’ve done. Give us the strength to call those what they are: lies from the pit of hell. Help us cling to the truth, and where our beliefs are false, we ask that you would change them. Where we believe wrong things about you, please show us the truth. And where we believe wrong things about ourselves, please break down those strongholds of falsehood, knowing they keep us from living purely in the victory you would have us. We give you our minds and our hearts to mold as you will. We receive your peace, and we give you all the glory. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.