“The only thing that will remain in Heaven of our earthly time is our prayers.” (Vesta Mangun.) “Yet, why do so many struggle with prayer? Prayer is the ultimate experience of life; it reaches into eternity. It is our opportunity to become a part of the eternal purpose of God. Prayer is often constricted to a narrow focus or it may sprawl in our mind without parameters. The ‘sweet hour of prayer’ becomes a dreaded responsibility instead of a privileged relationship. Prayer has been perceived as drudgery, when it is a pleasure- as a hard self-discipline, when it is a self-rewarding sacrifice – as a commitment you can never quite keep, when it is an unlimited communion with God. A lot depends on how our prayer life is conducted.” Teri Spears and Thetus Tenney, in loose-leaf (note/work) book, ‘…first of all…Prayer’ pg. 1 (Introduction). (Italics and bold added by me.)
Category: Promises
Priceless, Efficacious Tears.
“In one of the six ‘Golden Psalms’ (michtam, in Hebrew), David describes how God values tears:
Psalm 56:8-‘You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?’ God is an avid collector of tears. Tears are the silent, eloquent testimonies to God’s nearness: “He remains close to those who are brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Did you know what’s physiologically in our tears? A tear is comprised of more than ‘just’ water and includes proteins, enzymes, lipids, metabolites, electrolytes, and even our DNA! If our eyes get irritated, tears are more aqueous (comprised of water). If we are under high stress, our tears are filled with stress-related hormones.
But the chemistry of tears pales in comparison to their (spiritual) value (to God…and us): “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable (hope and) love.” Unknown.
Contrition. Unspeakable love. Not ordinary, everyday words…nor occurrences, sadly, though tears might be.
Is that why God has a supreme interest in…and pays undying attention to…our tears? He is love personified and, therefore, “near to the brokenhearted.” The Psalmist said that ‘God collects tears, even stores them in his bottles.’ ” The Book on Prayer, pg. 248, by Psr. Ken Gurley (italics and words in parentheses, etc., added by me, dkb).
Fast…or Feast?
“Like all the Spiritual Disciplines, fasting hoists the sails of the soul in hopes of experiencing the gracious wind of God’s Spirit. But fasting also adds a unique dimension to your spiritual life and helps you grow in Christlikeness in ways that are unavailable through any other means. If this were not so, there would have been no need for Jesus to model and teach fasting.” Donald S. Whitney, in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, pg. 171. See Isaiah 58 for Inspiration re. ‘Acceptable’ Fasting…and note that Fasting is Truly Feasting When You’re Focused on Jesus and His Call.
Compassionless = Hard-hearted?
“Compassion is the divine in mankind (just as cruelty is the diabolical in us). It’s God’s promptings to us to help the helpless, parent the orphan, feed the hungry, clothe the cold, and raise the fallen. A compassionless Believer is an oxymoron. As Jesus cares, so should we.” Pastor/Author/Keynote Speaker, Ken Gurley, The Book on Prayer, pg. 251 (words in parenthesis added by me, dkb): Matthew 9:36… and, sadly, Matthew 24:12.
Ultimate Justice
“(God’s) Love is more just than justice.” Henry Ward Beecher (as found in Stormie Omartian’s devotional, That’s What Love is For, pg. 52.
Ponderings of a Sojourner 