Sabbath Keeping

 "...men ought always to pray, and not to faint"
~ Luke 18:1 ~

"That little "ought" is emphatic.  It implies obligation as high as heaven.  Jesus said, "Men ought always to pray," and added, "and not to faint.  "I confess I do not always feel like praying - - when, judging by my feelings, there is no one listening to my prayer.  And then these words have stirred me to pray:
I ought to pray - -
I ought always to pray - -
I should not grow faint in praying.  Praying is a form of work.  The farmer ploughs his field often when he does not feel like it, but he confidently expects a crop for his labors.  Now, if prayer is a form of work, and our labor is not in vain in the Lord, should we not pray regardless of feelings?  Once when I knelt for morning prayers I felt a sort of deadness in my soul, and just then the "accuser of the brethren" became busy reminding me of things that had long since been under the Blood.  I cried to God for help, and the blessed Comforter reminded me that my Great High Priest was pleading my case; that I must come boldly to the throne of grace.  I did, and the enemy was routed!  What a blessed time of communion I had with my Lord!  Had I fainted instead of fighting I could not have received wages because I had not labored fervently in prayer; I could not have reaped because I had not sown."
~ Commissioner Brengle~


"You cannot think of prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish that you had made it larger.  Pray not for crutches, but for wings!" ~ Phillips Brooks ~

"Our prayers may be awkward. 

Our attempts may be feeble. 

But since the power of prayer is in the One 

who hears it and not in the one who says it, 

our prayers do make a difference."
~ Max Lucado ~

"Mind how you pray. Make real business of it. Let it never be a dead formality. Plead the promise in a truthful, business-like way. Ask for what you want, because the Lord has promised it. Believe that you have the blessing, and go forth to your work in full assurance of it. Go from your knees singing, because the promise is fulfilled: thus will your prayer be answered. The strength [not length] of your prayer...wins...God; and the strength of prayer lies in your faith in the promise which you pleaded before the Lord." ~ Charles Spurgeon ~

"Many things I have tried to grasp, and have lost.

That which I have placed in God's hands I still have."

~ Martin Luther ~

"The essence of prayer does not consist in asking God for something but in opening our hearts to God, in speaking with Him, and living with Him in perpetual communion. Prayer is continual abandonment to God. Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want; it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life. Prayer is not asking, but union with God. Prayer is not a painful effort to gain from God help in the varying needs of our lives. Prayer is the desire to possess God Himself, the Source of all life. The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him..."     
~ Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929), Hindu Sikh who converted to Christ ~

"Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith, but they give us opportunities of honoring God by our steadfast confidence in Him under apparent repulses." ~ Charles Spurgeon ~

"If radio's slim finger can pluck a melody
From night, and toss it over a continent or sea;
If the petaled white notes of a violin
Are blown across a mountain or a city's din;
If songs, like crimson roses, are culled from thin blue air - -
Why should mortals wonder if God hears prayer?"
~ Ethel Romig Fuller ~

"He who prays fervently knows not whether he prays or not, for he is not thinking of the prayer which he makes, but of God, to whom he makes it."   ~ St. Francis of Sales~

"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 

Note: Aunt Esther passed away Thursday night; she was 93 and beloved by many. Hers was a life well lived and she was a "friend to man" to all who passed her door.  Aunt Esther taught me much about life, being a home maker, a wife, a mother, an employee, a friend, a Christian. Last month, we spent a wonderful few days together and enjoyed each others company; we spent long hours talking about life, death and going Home. Her death signals the end of an era; she blessed many, I knew I was loved.

If you'd like your name added to the prayer list, please let me know.

Prayer Keeping ~ Aunt Esther's family, friends and neighbors ~ Susan ~ Stephanie ~ Winnie ~Steve ~ Angela ~ Liz and her sons ~ Leslie ~ William and Catherine ~ Becky ~ Rick ~Misha ~ J ~  Linda and Skip ~ Ryan ~ Roy ~ Tonya ~ Dave ~ me ~