Today’s TEA CUPP:
Petition: Have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you. Psalm 86:3-4 (NIV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Petition: O God, do not remain silent;
do not turn a deaf ear,
do not stand aloof, O God. Psalm 83:1 (NIV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Petition: O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Psalm 84:8 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Petitions:
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved! Psalm https://onhealthy.net/product/lexapro/ 80:3 (NKJV)
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13-14 (NKJV)
The other day we were talking with our good friends, Tom and Judy, after church. Tom mentioned one of his favorite verses from John, these verses above from chapter 14. Tom said, the verses don’t say, once you’ve got everything right, you will receive. They don’t say, once you’ve got your life in order, you will receive. They don’t say, when you say your prayers just so, you will receive. God’s Word says, ASK and you will receive. All we have to do is ASK. Just ASK! That’s what our petition time with Jesus is all about, asking Him. I’m now asking God with renewed hope today. My Jesus, be glorified in Your answers to my prayers.
Do you remember the popular book by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson entitled “The Prayer of Jabez?” Dr. Wilkinson encouraged us to pray Jabez’ simple prayer as found in the Old Testament.
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NIV)
Many churches and individuals posted this prayer where they would see and pray it often, hoping for the blessings and life free from pain that Jabez received from the Lord.
I still pray Jabez’ prayer every now and then, but I go beyond Jabez. I’m challenged to use all God’s Word in prayer. Throughout the scriptures are other prayers and petitions, just as powerful as that of Jabez. So, why stop at Chronicles?
Let’s also pray these petitions from…
Nehemiah in Nehemiah 1:6 (NIV) “Let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes be open to hear the prayer Your servant is praying before You day and night.”
David in Psalm 13:1 (NKJV) “How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me??
Isaiah in Isaiah 33:2 (NIV) “O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.”
Daniel in Daniel 9:19 (NIV) “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay…”
I encourage you to go beyond the prayer of Jabez, searching your whole Bible for prayer starters for pouring out your heart to God. Underline them, highlight them, write them on note cards for your bathroom mirror or the steering wheel of your car. Go beyond Jabez and use all God’s Word in prayer!
“…So is My Word that goes out from my mouth it will not return to Me empty, it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)
“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1 (NIV)
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV)
Today I want to encourage you to pray and don’t give up! I often feel like the persistent widow, praying over and over again for the same things. I pray for our children, I pray for our camping ministry, I pray for those with cancer, I pray for our country. Every morning I bring my petitions to Jesus, just as the widow did to the judge. Unlike the judge, Jesus doesn’t grow weary of my persistence, and at just the right time He sends His answers. Jesus is always ready to hear our prayers and share a CUPP of TEA. My friends, pray and don’t give up!
But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay. Psalm 70:5 (NKJV)
I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 2 Timothy 1:3 (NIV)
Today I’m issuing you a challenge to make a daily date with Jesus. When will you have your next TEA CUPP time with the Lord? Write it on your day-planner. Enter it in your Blackberry. Send yourself a text message. Write down…
1) Your next TEA CUPP time with God – make it a date!
2) A favorite Bible verse you would like to use in prayer.
3) And on a book mark (a folded sheet of paper works great!), list some people & situations you want to talk to God about at your TEA CUPP time.
Make a date with Jesus every day and you will be blessed!
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
Pray without ceasing. That is quite a command! When My Tea Cupp time in the morning is complete and my day begins, how can I keep praying throughout the day? This is when we can invite our families into the habit of praying. Here are a few ideas for incorporating petitions with our families during the day. I hope you will share your ideas, too.
Book Mark: I keep a book mark in my Bible that reminds me to pray for my family and others. We have a book mark for our family devotions, too. If you’d like one of my books marks, just send me a message and I’ll mail one to you.
Graces: Saying grace at meal times is a great way to reconnect with family members and with God. At breakfast, take turns saying a longer prayer. At lunch and dinner we usually say a lively prayer like you might say at camp (I’ll post those sometime soon!).
Christmas Cards: We have a tradition of drawing a Christmas card out of our mail basket each day and praying for that person or family. We usually begin around Valentine’s Day or the first of Lent, because most people have sent their Christmas cards by then. It is fun to read them over again in the spring, and pray for our friends and family. Some http://www.healthandrecoveryinstitute.com/soma-carisoprodol-muscle-relaxant/ years we’ll send a postcard to people saying we prayed and other years we’ll just pray.
Bedtime prayers: I like to say a bedtime prayer with my kids when I tuck them in at night. We started this when our oldest child was just a baby in her crib. So, it is something the kids just expect to happen. I think their days would feel incomplete if we sent them to bed without a prayer. My son Jacob talks to me before the prayer about things that are concerning him. Then we lift up those prayers to Jesus so he can have a good night sleep.
Prayer partners: We live at a church camp. Each summer a great group of college students comes to work here. On Sunday evenings we draw names out of a basket and pray for that person all week. It is a great way to lift up each other in prayer. I imagine you could do this with any of your groups…Bible study group, ladies’ group, scrapbook club, etc. Support your friends and carry them to Jesus by having prayer partners.
What are ways you like to spread My Tea Cupp Prayers throughout the day with your family?
My favorite devotion book to begin my TEA CUPP time each morning is Our Daily Bread. There is a link in the left side-bar where you can read today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread. Above is a link to a devotion from 2002. Often when I especially like a devotion, I will put a star by it or rip it out of the book and save it for later. This devotion is one of those.
“Something Far Better” from Our Daily Bread tells the story of a man who ordered items from a mail-order catalog…I won’t tell you more, because I want you to read it for yourself. Just know that “Something Far Better” than what we can ask or imagine, is what we should petition the King of kings for each day:
“A man who lived far out in the country bought his clothing from a mail-order catalog. At the bottom of the printed order form he noticed this statement: “If we do not have the article you ordered in stock, may we substitute?”
The first time that he wrote “yes,” they sent him something that was worth double the price of the article he had requested. The company explained, “We are sorry we do not have the article in stock which you ordered. We are sending you something better at our expense.”
After that, the man said he always printed out much more boldly the word “yes” at the bottom of the order https://www.ncmh.info/klonopin-clonazepam-medication/ blank. He knew he would not be disappointed by the substitution.
So too, when we pray to God, it is good to tell Him that we are quite willing to let Him take our weak prayers and answer them according to His will. Too often we pray and do not see our requests answered because we selfishly “ask amiss” (James 4:3). Instead, we need to examine the motives of our hearts and trust Him to give us exactly what we need. We can be sure that when we do He will send us something far better, yes, “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).” —Henry G. Bosch
As we lift up our petitions to God each day, we might find ourselves disappointed that we don’t always get what we want. This has happened to me several times and I still get sad before I remember that God has a better plan, even though I might not like it or understand it at the time. Let’s all work to trust that what God has planned is “Something Far Better.’
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)