Talks with God in My Kitchen

Dear God,

A new day dawns and I am again reminded of Your everlasting love for me and all Your creation.  I am grateful for another day of life in which to enjoy Your blessings and to be used as Your blessing to others.

I find the teachings of Paul, Your grand old warrior in Christian living and ministry to those who had accepted Jesus, a very important treasure trove for my own Christian experience.  Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.”  That text is easy to roll off the tongue and around in the mind, when anxiety settles like a mantle upon our spirit; for whatever reason. The text is saying, we do not need to be overwhelmed by anxiety, because we are invited to take everything to God in prayer and supplication, not once but many times, at the same time giving thanks, because we can believe that God, will always fulfil His Word.

Can’t stop being anxious, I am learning to ask Jesus to help, and ask Him to take my anxiety.  Can’t take my mind off it, think on Jesus and sing His praises.  Don’t have the faith or belief that works, in accepting that God has answered this prayer, because I still feel ‘all screwed’ up.  Ask God to fill me with His Holy Spirit, and the faith and belief that I am lacking.  I may feel no different, but ask God to fill me with faith any way.  I am sorry God, that I so often forget to take all my needs to You in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving as I claim Your answer, and as You extend my learning and faith, please strengthen me during the wait.  I now have learned to believe You cannot lie, and so Your promise will be answered in You time and manner.  Mark 11: 24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

I have found the problem of an unanswered scriptural promise, is never with God.  Thank You God, that I am gradually being taught by You, in prayer and faith in You, to become settled in my faith.  Please bring me to a place, in which I can say as did Paul, Romans 8:38 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

 I pray that we all will cling to You our God and Saviour.

Amen

 

 

Dear God,

Creator and Overseer of all in righteousness, I joyfully and thankfully acknowledge Your action and influence in my life.  You have blessed me with Your direction and merciful care; and I do not complain.  Proverbs 3:6 “In all Your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.” 

Whether we are young in age, young in the ways of the Lord, or after long years of church going, have only just been ignited to seek God more fully, or have a long established relationship with You our God,; all of us need to each day commit our lives and doings to You, and refresh ourselves in You, by prayer and reading of Your Holy words of life.  You God tell us we need Your wisdom, and to learn of Jesus Your Son.

You give us council and direction, and we need it all for an illuminated pathway.  Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…..”  Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” 

O God please give us more appreciation and awe for the privilege that may be ours, to receive, and follow the directions of Your unerring wisdom.  For we do not contend just with our own human weaknesses and ineptitude, but with Satan and his army of demons; we can as Your humble, devoted follower of Jesus Christ we are assured that we will be delivered from them and our besetting sins.  Revelation 12:12 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” 

By my own too frequent experience I know I cannot trust myself to walk as an overcomer, and will only do so by acknowledging my weakness,  and remembering Jesus said, John 15:5, 7 “…for without Me you can do nothing.”   Followed up with His promise “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for You.”

To form the closest possible union with Jesus should be our earthly occupation and this can be so, when we obey You, and are granted the high privilege of becoming the sons and daughters of the King of the whole universe.  It is through Jesus who was crucified and arose, that we all will be filled with the fruits of righteousness and be prepared to walk in the courts of the King of kings, on and on through unending ages.

Thank You my God and deliverer, I give You my praise.

 

 

Dear God,

Today I have again chosen You as my God, and Your Son, Jesus Christ as my Saviour, for I love You and believe in You both and Your Holy Scriptures.  Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness or joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  It is such an affirmation of what You can do in the life of someone who has given their whole heart to You, and then studies and believes all of the scriptures and builds up a relationship with their God on high; and in the process has learned to have absolute faith in all that is inspired by You our Most righteous and Holy God.

To have Your presence near, even on earth fills us with absolute humble awe.  Then to experience a joy that is full and rich, is what people pay lots of money for, and here it is, for free, with no deleterious effects or weariness. Your righteous right hand always protects and delivers us, and now at You right hand we have the promise of ‘pleasures forevermore’, for You also give us the hope that through Jesus we will live with You the Father, and Jesus our Conquering King and myriads of angels, along with the redeemed from earth.

Isaiah 26: 3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  By Your grace and revelation of Yourself with promises of good toward Your children here on earth, comes healing for our mind and soul, when we focus upon You and not our problems. This is seen in the lives of many and for them; gone is complete sadness and undue anxiety, and again all for free, without any adverse effects.

I express the joy You fill me with, and with renewed sensitivity, have desire to review all Your Creation, blessings and every day answers to prayer.  I pray that anyone who is down, depressed or unduly oppressed and anxious, will find Your answers for them and be filled with Your joy every day.

Philippians 4: 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.”

Dear God,

You truly are my strength and stay.  Please grow me in Your love, so that I more often look away from my own enjoyable projects and activities at home, and focus on my activities for You and others.  Once again I dedicate my talks to You on my blog, to be tutored and led in a way that will touch others.  I now realize this is Your blessing to me first, and then others, and the time it takes is my sacrifice to You.

Matthew 5, today I have read parts of this wonderful chapter, which outlines how we can and should imitate the love of Jesus toward others in every interaction.  Matthew 5: 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you, and persecute you.”  To do good for another in the face of personal injustice or attack, is truly the gospel and way of Jesus, because He lives in our heart, and we allow His ways to be expressed.  It is easy to love those who love us.  There is however a challenge to love someone who treats us unfairly, deceitfully or works to do us harm.  Again Jesus offers His strength for us to be able to love others and turn the other cheek.  Matthew 5: 48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Jesus does not ask anything unless we are given the enabling, over time, as we keep clinging on to His words.

Ephesians 5: 1, 2 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”  Walk in love as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, as an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling aroma.  I am so glad our life given to Jesus in obedient sacrificial love, and the giving of our time and resources, is as a sweet smelling aroma to You, our God.

I ask You Jesus to continue to change my heart and take away the urge to do so many things away from You.  Please be my strength and desire to do all that is Your will for me.

I pray your richest blessings for all who read this prayer.

Dear God,

I thank You for life, and for being able to live in a country that helps with regular payments for living, though it could be argued that it is not generous; it is better than many other places with no pensions or government aid.

I read how You God, set up the Israelite nations, to be a model of health, security, and provision for each family and for the looking out for the needs of every person in their community. Moses who delivered Gods laws for living, said when the laws were followed, there may be times: Deuteronomy 15:4, 5 “Except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you ‘………’only if you are careful to obey the voice of the Lord Your God, to observe all these commandments’…”  However whenever there was someone overcome in circumstances that placed them in poverty, Deuteronomy 15: 11 ‘For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother; to your poor and needy, in your land.’”

Sadly In most societies down through time, self-interest got/gets in the way, and often the poor and needy are overlooked by many very ‘respectable people.  May that not be me, my God; please keep prompting me as to your will. Isaiah 1: 17 “Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow.”

The disciples had been changed and rejuvenated by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and were sharing the good news of Jesus with many people; Acts 1: 38, 39 “Peter…’Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

The disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit did many miracles, but no less miraculous was the change in personality, of everyone who accepted Jesus.  Gone was the selfishness and uncaring attitude toward others.  All were in unity of belief and purpose, and caring for others.  Many sold their properties and land, and gave them to the apostles for distribution to those in need.

God, for the poor among us, touch each individual heart with gratitude for our abundant blessings, and the desire to willingly share with others.

Amen

 

Matthew 28:18, 19 “’Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” 

Dear God,

Was this a new assignment to the disciples?  No it could not be a new assignment, for they had been associated with Jesus and walking with and observing His ways as well as participating, in teaching, healing and caring activates of many types, for 3 years. Therefore it seems that the disciples of Jesus then and for us now; received a commission to make new disciples in the way Jesus did.

Though Jesus did lots of teaching, He did not go off and only preach in every place, intent only on making many disciples, He cared lovingly for the people’s needs, along with their unspoken and spoken desire for salvation.

For preachers to just go preach alone would appear not be fulfilling His commission fully. But neither can we the membership of Gods followers, just sit back and give money to the church and preaching campaigns, and think we have righteously done all that Jesus asked. We humbly ask for direction as You have promised.  (Psalm 48: 14)

I pray You God, in the name of Jesus, fill us with Your Spirit, love and grace, so that we ache to share in word and possessions what You have blessed us with.  To be a true follower of Christ, I can see I/we cannot live a life of ease and selfishness, when others not only do not have what they need for food and essential items, but are at the same time sinners perishing for want of being given the gospel of Jesus.  I can also see that You have commissioned I/we of Your church fellowship to show Your love to others by how we live out Your love.

Thank You for forgiving us for any lack in living out Your love to others.  Thank You for changing us and by writing Your love in our heart.  Keep us ever mindful of the message of 1 Timothy 6: 18 , 19 “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”  

I praise Your name most Holy God, for Your total love.  Please change us so that we will not selfishly keep Your blessings and salvation message to ourselves.

Amen

 

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” 

Dear God,

The invitation to cast my burden upon You, has been one of my texts that I read on a daily basis for some time, when all seemed beyond my acceptance, this thought restored balance in my spirit.  But even more so, when I read on, and allowed the following words to sink right into my mind; ’He shall sustain you’. When this was followed up with the promise that I would not be moved from Your righteous side. I was in a place to think and say words of praise.

Then I read more of Your scriptures, and learned the type of person I should be, as a true child of yours.  You cannot direct and work in the heart and life of the prideful self-sufficient one, who sees no need of outside help.  I accepted that I needed to allow the Holy Spirit to evaluate my attitudes and ask to be cleansed from the unlovely.  1 Peter 5:5 “……’God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’”  When I have given my heart to God, He hears my prayer to be the type of person He is, and gradually I will be changed into a person of loveliness in Christ.  1 Peter 5:6, 7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”  You know what we can cope with and what we cannot, and we are provided with all we need to accept, stretch our faith, and conquer self.  We need all our mind and senses to be even aware that the devil is on our case, ever working to bring us down and separate us from our only source of strength, You our God. Therefore we are counseled to be sober, and vigilant.  We cannot play around with our old temptations or destructive habits for they will unseat us, so we must resist these temptations of the devil.

Like many who have gone before us in suffering and been delivered by God, so can we!  1 Peter 5: 10, 11 “But may the God or all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.”

Glory be to You our God, provider, protector and Saviour.

Amen

 

Dear God,

As it is written Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God ……..” and so I am finding it to be, whether through sickness and its unwelcome prospects, through adhesion’s and tight back muscles, that make their presence felt, through misunderstandings, through strange food reactions, through fatigue and anxiety, You God have been there showing Your way and growing my faith in Your promises, no matter the circumstances.  I am learning to truly rely on Your promises, and that they will always be fulfilled WHEN I have the faith to believe this is so.  No matter how I feel or what is said to me or the difficult circumstances, You are there not only bringing me through, but filling me with more of Your supernatural faith and rejoicing, no matter what happens in my body and around me.

In scripture it is never promised that any follower of God will be kept from trial or hardship.  1 Peter 4: 12, 13 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”  Thank You dear Jesus, for the exceeding joy that follows being stretched by trial or hardship, as You fill my mind with scriptures and songs that bring just what I need into my mind and heart at the time.  Please strengthen me and guide me to give public testimony of the times when I am filled with Your glory, by Your condescension and grace.

Proverbs 23:26 “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.”  I would not trade my growing faith in You, as the way it satisfies my inner person and is so very precious in experience.  Praise Your glorious self, and to think one day we will be able to behold You face to face.

Amen

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”  

Dear God,

Thank You for my life and for giving me enjoyment in the everyday things, as well as loving caring friends who express genuine care for me and I for them.  Even though for this little while some health issues intrude, the peace of my surroundings and Your messages of love and direction in the scriptures, keep me for the most part, above it all.  It is such a blessing to have the genuine love of the two grandchildren, in return for the little acts I can do for them.

I read in Your word, how Jesus lovingly ministered to many people and we His followers will be like Him, when He is in each heart and we listen to His promptings. Then I will also love even when it is painful and the person is unattractive and unloving to me.  Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” 

We often look to far off places and even other areas in our locality, to help those in need and forget that what we are and do at home and in our own locality is very important to God.  1 Peter 3:8,9 “All of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, (sisters) be tender hearted, be courteous, not returning evil or reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” 

These days I better appreciate, that You fill us with Your love and place a desire in us to want to be loved and to respond in kind, and reap your blessings.

1 Peter 3: 10 – 12 “ He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit  Let him turn from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 

I am thankful even though my partner is long gone, for the wonderful enduring friends in my life who make a difference and me in theirs.  It is the commonality of loving Jesus, and praying for each other, that unites us friends of many decades. 
Amen

Dear God,

I again offer my praises to the one and only true God, Who keeps me body and soul, in the sunshine of Jesus.  Another bright sunny almost spring day dawns, warming all my senses and soon my skin.  This is how Jesus is to my inner person warming and giving rest, as His gift; for He is warmth and rest.

1 Peter 2:23 – 25, Jesus our gentle Saviour did not fight with or say anything back to His accusers as He suffered at their mouth and hands.  Nor did He stoop to threatening future judgement, “but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”   As Jesus prayed daily to His Father, for the Holy Spirit, so do I pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, as I prepare my heart, having asked for forgiveness.  Then the Holy Spirit can change my mind and spirit, as needed to become more Christlike and give Your purpose to my life and future; causing me to trust fully in Your righteous judgement.  While I have learned I cannot trust myself. I know I can trust myself and future absolutely to Jesus, My Saviour.  1 Peter 2: 24 “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by those stripes you were healed.”  I am so reassured and grateful for this answer to my sin problem and that through Jesus, I can live in righteousness, healed by His persecution and unjust death, how grossly unfair; yet beautiful is that!

I will not now go around as one lost, without purpose, off on wrong paths, lost and astray, because I have Jesus as my loving Shepard, who keeps His sheep tenderly. 1 Peter 2: 25 “For you were like sheep going astray, but now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Safe in Your care, at last!

Again praises to Jesus, the love of my soul.

Amen