All tagged fire

In the Heat of Faith and Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Fervent Faith

My devotional reading was a hot one today, dealing with fire and specifically the fire in our prayers. E.M. Bounds wrote that "It takes fire to make prayers work. God wants warmhearted servants. We are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Bounds then continued with this observation... "If our faith does not set us on fire, it is because our hearts have become cold." Of course he wasn't referring to literally being set aflame, but rather a fervency that ignites the passion within us and adds intensity to our faith and prayers. We must feel an emotional and spiritual upwelling that comes from the realized presence of God and an anticipation of His answer to our prayers. In our prayers we need to convey the importance of our petition through our attitude and the fire embodied in our effort to seek Him.

On Fire for God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, On Fire

Today let’s talk about our faith and churches, and how they both should be "on fire" for God. As I read my devotional this morning the author portrayed God as glowing in white heat, but we should be cautious when we attempt to build the fire, and ignite the zeal, within our own selves, and churches. Pastor E.M. Bounds cautions us that the only things that we and our churches can afford to be on fire about are the great eternal interests of God-given faith. In making this point regarding zealousness, Bounds uses a scripture from Romans 12.

Spiritual Fire, and Dying Embers

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Spiritual Fire

Seeking after those things which are of God like a starving man seeks food is, as my morning devotional reading puts it, "the proof of a renewed heart and the evidence of a stirring spiritual life." It goes on to say that this unquenchable thirst drives prayer. We will find that today's scripture reading is a blessing among blessings. It comes from The Sermon on the Mount, and specifically the beatitudes and speaks to us about thirsting for righteousness.

Prayers on Fire

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Intense Prayer

On this very morning in 2016 I was sitting in the common area of Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee waiting for my wife to complete physical therapy on her leg. She was rehabbing after knee replacement, and I was enjoying having this time alone in the waiting room which allowed me to contemplate my prayers and devotional reading from earlier in the day. Pastor E.M. Bounds had written that prayer should be aflame and it struck me as being truth. Here in the southern United States we would say, with quite a strong accent, "don't pray no milk toast prayer!" Truly, a prayer without emotion, or intense devotion, demonstrates very little sincerity and passion.