All tagged heart

Compassionate Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Compassion and Prayer

This morning we study "Compassionate Prayer" as it was taught in Matthew 9:36. I thought to myself that this was a very appropriate topic, since this is Missions Month at many churches. Beyond delivering the gospel, there are situations at home, and around the world, where we can physically provide aid to others, or pray for them through a situation; but there are quite a few others that are beyond our ability to resolve, and we must depend on a miracle, and entering into "Compassionate Prayer", is our only course of action.

The Breath of Faith and Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Faith and Prayer

Today let’s discuss the twins of prayer and faith. Pastor E.M. Bounds describes them this way: "one heart brings them both to life. Faith is always praying; prayer is always believing." He ends his devotional by writing by saying "Prayer asks; faith lays its hand on the thing asked for." Faith and prayer are the engines which power the Dynamo of our belief; our relationship with God. They create the spark that jumps the gap between man and God. For our part in this endeavor we must hold fast to our faith and exercise our prayer fervently.

The Courthouse Steps

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God Waits on Us

The scripture passage from my devotional reading this morning could either reassure us or cause us to tremble. E.M. Bounds had titled his devotional message "All My Longings" and spoken of God answering our fervent prayers. However, his scripture selection was a double edged sword. He had chosen a verse that would thrill the righteous believer while at the same time bringing fear to the wayward sinner. It deals with a common theme in the Bible… God knows our heart.

Little Grains of Sand are Trouble

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Pray the Trivia

Where do we seek shelter when the storms of life come? This morning the devotional message I read was titled "When Trouble Comes" and E.M. Bounds wrote that "the most natural thing to do is carry your troubles to the Lord and seek grace, patience, and submission there." We are indeed blessed to have such a place of shelter and safety in our times of distress. God is our strong tower and Jesus Christ our Lord is dependable and true as He tells us to pray in His Name, and intercedes for us.

Prayer, Praise, Song

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Singing to God

This morning let’s delve into praising God and the presence of our praise in prayer. Pastor E.M. Bounds called this "Spiritual Singing". He even recognized people with little ability to sing when he said "Spiritual singing is not done by musical taste or talent, but by the grace of God in your heart." We are encouraged in scripture to address one another, and God, in song, but are we doing this? If not is it because we are judging one another’s ability to sing and thus discouraging another’s prayer life? Singing on a stage is one thing, but singing on our knees to the Lord is totally different and criticism there can be considered shaming someone who is seeking God’s presence.

Our Praying Hearts

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Heartfelt Prayer

Sometimes when we are in a battle against the hardships of life we can become so involved in the struggle, and desperately calling upon the Lord in prayer, that even though we are saying the words, our depth of devotion and loving heart is absent from them. My devotional reading this morning warned against this, and today we will turn to a verse in Isaiah 29 to understand this further.

Praying With All Our Heart

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Heart

Where should our prayer originate when we enter our chosen place of prayer and seek God’s presence? Is it our intellect, our spirit, our soul? Is it our posture, our language, or a certain phrase that bring us close to Him? God tells us the answer to this Himself in the book of Jerimiah when he says that we should reach out to Him with all of our heart. So if our prayers should emanate from or hearts then we must also ask ourselves a simple question… “What is the condition of my heart and relationship towards God?” To describe this we use words like lovingly, sincerely, persistently, and in purity.

Obeying God, or Sitting in the Principal’s Office

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, seeking with our heart

Are we studying and memorizing scripture, and reading Biblically based literature, with the thought that this will make us wise and righteous or give us some increased standing with God? Well my friends, only one thing will work to perfect us in the eyes of God, and that is having the faith and obedience of a child. I would rather do this one small thing perfectly than to pursue a thousand wise and scholarly things while missing the mark of holiness entirely.

The hidden(?) sins of our hearts and minds.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hearts and Minds

It’s not simply our actions that we need to repent of, but more than that it is what we carry in our hearts that will prompt, or have prompted, us to sin outwardly. These thoughts and longings desperately beg for our penitence and prayerful attention. Holding worldly thoughts in our hearts such as malice, lasciviousness, hatred, jealousy, and the like, leads us to commit our outward sins; they are like the voice of Satan that whispers nonstop day and night to us until at last we act upon them. Our repentance should begin with these dark thoughts that we feel confident no one can see, and are well hidden from God Himself, these are the deeply rooted sins we should dwell on in our prayer closets. Our transformation through Christ must begin with repentance for our innermost thoughts in order that they not manifest themselves boldly, and become the tangible fruit of what we give safe harbor to within us.

Hardened Hearts, and Comforting the Sick and Dying

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Comfort

In this time of COVID in which people are afflicted, sickened horrifically, and many die, it is easy to become hardened to the agony that is going on around us. It seems that our hearts can become overloaded as we empathize with the suffering we see, and the pain we shoulder with them. In sharing the grief, and commiserating with the pain of others, we can become overwhelmed, and to protect ourselves we tend to withdraw from what is happening, and to isolate ourselves from the trauma, but scripture tells us time and time again to comfort others, care for them, and provide for their needs. How are we doing in these stressful times? Do we pray for strength so that we can become a wellspring of strength and comfort to others, or has the pain we have internalized changed us into hardened souls? Are we looking for reasons not to comfort others?

Prayers on the corner, or from the heart?

Richard Forbes
Breaking Bread , Christian , Daily Devotional , Prayers From The Heart , Prayer

When we pray we should simply say what we mean, and mean what we say. Unlike a writer who might get paid according to the number of words he writes, or their timeliness, God gives us no additional credit for the number of words we pray each day, nor for the number of minutes spent in prayer. Gods wants to hear what we have to say, and for us to say it sincerely, and directly. There is no benefit to chanting, or repeating ourselves; when it comes to prayer, a one minute prayer from the heart carries with it more strength than a one hour prayer recited because we have read, or been told, that we should spend more time praying. Sitting silently listening to, or for, God carries much more weight if we do so from our heart.

Finding a Supernatural Cure for a Naturally Broken Heart

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Curing a Broken Heart

Is your heart broken today, or perhaps you feel crushed emotionally or spiritually by some tragic event? Well, for as much as Satan would like for you to believe that this is a state of mind, heart, and spirit that you will be trapped in forever, and that your strength of faith will be sapped from you, never to return, this is not God’s desire, plan, nor is it His will for you. It should also be the object of all the saints around you to intercede for you in prayer by asking the Lord to bring such seasons in your life to a swift and healthy end.

Written on our hearts, and Spoken by our tongues… God’s Word

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Living God’s Word

Oh, I pray that we would all be seen as letters from Christ. I pray that our hearts would contain the Word of God, written there by His mighty finger as it moves within us. I pray that we each make our hearts and spirits to be living tablets, spiritual scrolls, and that we open them to Him. When we turn our gaze inward I pray that we find His Word there. When those around us watch us living out our lives it is my deepest desire that they see the image of Jesus Christ, and hear God’s Word, alive, and powerful, as if read aloud, and echoing from the mountains, and through the valleys of our lives and beings. Do others see our faith thriving within us as their example, and edification as they walk the pilgrim’s path towards their own righteousness, and as they seek holiness, and perfection within themselves? Are these prayers rising from your heart today?

Load More