Eyes to Our Soul

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Wrinkles of God

Today I am basing my devotional on something that Pastor E.M. Bounds referred to as "A Chain of Graces" and how prayer is an integral part of this chain. The scripture we are studying is Romans 3:5, and regarding this verse Pastor Bounds writes: "Prayer brings us into that state of grace where suffering cannot only be endured, but where there is a spirit of rejoicing over it." He goes on to say "It is in the furnace that faith is tested, patience is tried, and where all those rich virtues are developed that make up Christian character." I hope you love these comments as much as I do. But what I want to talk about today is how life leaves its physical as well as spiritual marks on us as we age, and the difference between the marks of the world, and those left by God, and Jesus Christ.

Affliction and the Spiritual Chalkboard

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Suffering and Tribulation

We have spoken of our troubles and afflictions as they relate to our faith through prayer, and today we revisit this topic again. Pastor E.M. Bounds simply called his short devotional thought "Affliction", and wrote "The greatest value in trouble comes to those who turn to God in prayer. In fact, the only way to endure trouble patiently, is to pray consistently.” Scripture tells us this...

Faith, and the Prayers of the Desperate

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Suffering

Yesterday we contemplated a faithful mother who sought a miracle for her daughter (Mat 25:22-28). The persistence of that mother caught the attention of Jesus and left us with a lesson for all time. When every hope is dashed and desperation appears to be our closest friend... that is when we should cling most to our faith... that is when prayer can bring the most amazing things to bear… even a stronger faith.

Realizing God’s Answer to Our Persistent Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Seeing Answered Prayer

Do we have the faith required to persist in prayer, but not the perspective we need to see His answer? Is there depth enough in our belief in prayer, and trust enough in God, that we can continue to pray for an unanswered desire, but lack the understanding of God’s will it requires to see His answer? Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote that "God sees His praying child's faith. He honors this faith that stays and cries by persisting in prayer, so that it is strengthened and enriched. Then He rewards it abundantly." God rewards us in prayer, but we are often expecting it to come in different way than it does.

Lessons in Our Prayers?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prayer Lessons

We continue our study of persistent prayer this morning with some examples from the bible. There are stories like that of Moses praying forty days and nights to stop the wrath of God, Elijah repeating his prayer seven times to bring rain, and Jesus praying three times in the a Garden of Gethsemane. Moses and Elijah were powerful men of God, and Jesus was the Son of God, yet they prayed persistently in times of great strife and trouble. Going to God over and over again with a prayer regarding something we feel strongly about is like adding an exclamation point to its Amen. God hears each word of every prayer, but as we pray them in this manner we are increasing our own understanding, dedication to the effort, and our faith and trust in God as well.

Praying Persistently, and Knocking as Jesus Does

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Persistence in Prayer

Persistence in prayer is our topic for this morning and at first glance it almost appears that in doing so we are attempting to force our desires on God, but there is more to this practice. God hears every word we utter in prayer and His memory is perfect, so why should we approach Him repeatedly with the same request until it is either granted, or denied? Because Jesus tells us to do so. Pastor E.M. Bounds gave some insight into this practice when he wrote: "it is praying with courage until our cries are [realized]." He went on to describe persistent prayer as "prayer on fire... Not having a feeble, flickering flame or momentary spark, but shines with a vigorous, steady glow." in other words it is a reflection of our faith which stands behind it.

Our Journey to the Never Ending Day

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Journey through Hardship

This morning let’s study another purpose for trouble in this world. The author of my morning devotional reading put it this way, "Trouble makes the earth undesirable and creates a desire for heaven within us... It is the path of tribulation that leads to that world." Our problems really do turn us towards God for help. They do this by taking our self-assuredness away and humbling us before Him. You see, we aren't meant to be satisfied with our current world, faith, and surroundings, we should see paradise and eternity before us, and a perfection of spirit and soul just beyond where we struggle. Our opening passage from Revelation encourages us with a description of heaven...

Walking the Prayerful Way

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prayer and Praying

Prayer is indeed central to our lives as Christians, and should be included in every breath we take. It is the essence of our relationship with the Lord, and the vehicle by which we touch Him, and he touches us as well. The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Thessalonians just how often we should pray, and a bit about what should and shouldn’t be included in our prayers.

Pressing the Wine of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Tribulation and Fine Wine

Today we continue to live in a world of tribulation, suffering, and affliction, and it surrounds us at almost every turn. However, scripture tells us that we have been delivered from all of that suffering by Jesus Christ who has overcome the world. Given today’s world are we at peace, and of good cheer, or have we resolved ourselves to be anxious and worried over the state of things? Perhaps we have missed the fact that our troubles bring us closer to Jesus, and press us together with Him in a way that transforms the grapes of our faith into a fine wine for our Father’s table.

Persistently at His Door

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Persistent Prayer

How persistent are we in prayer? Today our message is in regard to praying persistently and not neglecting our desires and those of others as we pray. In my morning reading Pastor E.M. Bounds referred to this as "a mighty move of the soul toward God." Jesus taught persistence in a parable to demonstrate the importance of being dogged in our prayers, and we either call it “The Parable of the Persistent Widow”, or, because it is so basic to praying, we refer to it as “the Parable on Prayer”.

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