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| Zander's Art Who will win? Crocodile or Snake? God wins! His Kingdom Come. |
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
Meditate. Consider what Jesus taught us to pray.
Happy Birthday Zander! I was going to comment on the Prayer
of Jabez, for you today. That prayer is widely known because of a little book
by that title that Bruce Wilkinson wrote several year ago. It is based on the
scripture:
There was a man
named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named
him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to
the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory!
Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and
pain!" And God granted him his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Then I read a commentary that pointed out that Jabez was
concerned mostly about himself…enlarge MY territory…that would be his area of
responsibility. Nothing really wrong with asking for God’s blessing—we do it
every day…but Jabez’ prayer continues with an all about ME requests. In contrast,
Jesus taught His disciples and us in the Lord’s Prayer to honor God, to ask for
forgiveness as we forgive others, as well as provide for us, and to keep us
from evil—the bad stuff in life. He ends with recognizing God’s glory and power,
thus honoring Him again. That is the way we should pray.
Jesus model prayer reminds me of the acronym ACTS.
Adoration. Confession. Thanksgiving. Supplication.
Give God the adoration of which He is totally worthy.
Confess your sins—and do it daily. Continually be thankful what God provides
and what He has done in your life. Where would you be without Him? Then lastly
ask for the things, situations or issues, wisdom, and whatever with which you
need God’s intervention in your life—and that of your family, friends,
associates, and neighbors. Make prayer a habit.
I have not stopped
thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so
that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Ephesians 1:16-17
I pray for you, Zander, and for others—even those I don’t
know around the world—in over 120 different countries—who have read this blog
at one time or another. Our God is a gracious, powerful, and amazing god—worthy
of our honor and praise. Give him thanks. Thanks for life itself and all He provides—but
especially for His Son, Jesus Christ, who was willing to obediently allow Himself
to die a brutal death on a Roman cross as sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
Yes. All mankind around the world. Not just God’s chosen people in the promised
land of Israel—but everyone around the world. All mankind including you and me.
God adopts into His family all those who accept Jesus as their Savior Personally,
since I have chosen to have Jesus as my Savior, this makes me one of God’s adopted
kids. I’m so glad you have made this decision, too, Zander. I feel we are loved
by the supreme being—Almighty God. Are others reading this His kids, too? If
not, pray about that.
Verse of Salvation ~ But I keep praying to you, LORD,
hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer
my prayer with your sure salvation. Psalm 69:13
Happy
Birthday ~ Zander-Man
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Authorized Version or King James Version (KJV), 1611, 1769. Outside of the United Kingdom, the KJV is in the public domain.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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