generosity

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Lifestyle of Prayer: Feasting!

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“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 

This week’s prayer focus:  Feasting!

“On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.  The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.  The LORD has spoken.” 
Isaiah 25:6-8 (NIV)

Yes, you read it correctly, this week’s prayer focus is on feasting!  Many of us have probably done quite a bit of that over the past few days, with more likely on the way as the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays approach.  When we think of our spiritual life and food, most often it is fasting that comes to mind so we prefer not to connect food with our prayer life.  While fasting should have great importance in the life of each Christian, feasting is also a tool given by God that can bring joy and benefit into the lives of believers and those around us if we pay attention to God’s instructions about feasting.  As you pray this week, ask God to help you feast with joy and purpose as you honor him with your feasts.  Pray for a unity of spirit among believers in general and among your church family in particular.  

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV) 

Please spend time each day praying about, writing down, and doing how God would have you live out that day’s aspect of prayer.  Thank you! 

Sunday: Pray for your church, its staff and leadership, and for all of the preaching and teaching that takes place.  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the work of Impact Prayer Ministry.

Monday: Feast of Celebration.  Pray that you would understand, and have, the Father’s heart in celebrating the finding and restoration of those who are lost.  Celebrate the lost who return home.  “‘Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”  Luke 15:23-24 (NIV)

Tuesday: Feast of Contentment.  Pray that you would understand the feasting of contentment that comes from living with a cheerful heart.  “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.  Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.”  Proverbs 15:15-16 (NIV)

Wednesday: Feast of Joy.  Pray that your desire, and practice, of feasting would bring joy not only to yourself, but to those around you as well.  “Be joyful at your Feast — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.”  Deuteronomy 16:14 (NIV)

Thursday: Feast of Remembrance.  Pray that you would always remember the purpose behind the various feasts that you celebrate.  Be sure to teach about the reminders God has given. “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.”  Exodus 12:17 (NIV)

Friday: Feast of Giving.  Pray that you would be filled with a heart of giving in the way you feast.  “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  Luke 14:13-14 (NIV)

Saturday:  Feast of the Kingdom.  Pray that you would always live a life surrendered fully to Christ in preparation for your place at the feast in the kingdom of God.  “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.  Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”  Luke 13:29-30 (NIV)

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Lifestyle of Prayer: Thankfulness!

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“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

This week’s prayer focus:  Thankfulness!

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 5:19-20

As we approach the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, it seems fitting to bring back a former prayer guide focused on being thankful.  It is  too easy to let the cares of the world steal our joy and thankfulness, so this week we will pray about a variety of reasons to be thankful as well as things to be thankful for.  God connects our attitudes and conversations with one another with our life of thankfulness to Him.  As you pray, ask God to help you live a life of thankfulness each day.  Pray that you would see His gifting in your life as reason to be thankful.  Pray that your sharing of God’s gifting in your life would cause others to give thanks to God.  Pray for a unity of spirit among believers in general and among your church family in particular.  

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV) 

Please spend time each day praying about, writing down, and doing how God would have you live out that day’s aspect of prayer.  Thank you! 

Sunday: Pray for your church, its staff and leadership, and for all of the preaching and teaching that takes place.  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the work of Impact Prayer Ministry.

Monday: Thankful for Faithful Reputation.  Thank God for those people who inspire you because of their reputation of faith in Jesus.  Pray that you would be one whose faithful reputation inspires others.  “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”  Romans 1:8 (NIV)

Tuesday: Thankful for Changed Lives.  Thank God for the desire and strength to turn from sin and live obediently to the truth.  Pray that the people around you would wholeheartedly obey the teaching of the gospel.  “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”  Romans 6:17 (NIV)

Wednesday: Thankful for Received Grace.  Thank God for His amazing grace that He offers to all who would accept it.  As you pray, recognize it is that same grace extended to you that allows you to be thankful for the people around you.  Pray that the people around you would see God’s grace extended through you.  “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Corinthians 1:4 (NIV)

Thursday: Thankful for Real Victory.  Thank God for the victory over sin and death, as well as for the daily victories, through Jesus.  Pray that the people around you would experience true victory through a relationship with Jesus.  “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

Friday: Thankful for Shared Concern.  Thank God that He draws believers to a common concern for one another and pray that you would always remember it.  Pray that you would be filled with a concern for others.  “I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.”  2 Corinthians 8:16 (NIV)

Saturday:  Thankful for Generous Giving.  Thank God for the ability, and opportunity, to supply the needs of one another through His provision.  Pray that your giving would cause others to give thanks to God.  “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”  2 Corinthians 9:12 (NIV)

Lifestyle of Prayer: Generosity!
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Lifestyle of Prayer: Generosity!

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“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

This week’s prayer focus:  Generosity!

“Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.  In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.  But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?  Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” 
1 Chronicles 29:12-14 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  As we consider the words of David, this week we will focus our prayer emphasis on the subject of generosity.  As Christians, we ought to be generous because it is a part of God’s nature that He has put within us.  Our generosity to others is a reflection of the generosity we receive from God — at least it ought to be.  Pray that you would experience, and share, the true generosity that is found in Christ. 

 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

Please spend time each day praying about, and writing down, how God would have you live out that day’s aspect of prayer.   Thank you!

Sunday:  Pray for your church, its staff and leadership, and for all of the preaching and teaching that takes place.  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the work of Impact Prayer Ministry. 

Monday: Your Attitude in Generosity.  Pray that you would have a right attitude in sharing and giving.  Pray that any traces of a “grudging  heart” would be removed from you.  “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”  Deuteronomy 15:10 (NIV)

Tuesday: Goodness and Justice in Generosity.  Pray that your generosity would bring about goodness and justice in your life and in the lives of those around you.  “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.”  Psalm 112:5 (NIV)

Wednesday: Prosperity and Refreshing in Generosity.  Pray that you would know God’s version of “prosper” as your generosity refreshes yourself and others.  Pray for an increased generosity as you experience an increased prosperity.  “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

Thursday: Extreme Circumstances in Generosity.  Pray that you would not allow your circumstances to rob you of the joy of generosity.   Pray that you would have both a spirit and practice of generosity in all circumstances.  “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”  2 Corinthians 8:2 (NIV)

Friday: Sowing and Reaping in Generosity.  Pray that you would reap an abundant harvest of God’s blessings because you have sown generously.  “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”  2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV)

Saturday:  Thanksgiving and Praise in Generosity.  Pray that your generosity would always be done in ways that result in praise and thanksgiving to God.  Praise God for a spirit of generosity.  “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”  2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)