Grace-Filled Prayer

Sometimes when I come to set apart a time of prayer, I find myself struggling for words to say. Has this ever happened to you? Well, today's devotion gives us so much hope and GRACE that even in our prayers, our Father is guiding and leading us in this "grace-filled" work. We can rest in Him that as we come to pray, He is listening and His Spirit is transferring and transforming that prayer into the portals of heaven on our behalf. Enjoy a slice of grace today and in this coming year with this excerpt by Richard Foster. Happy New Year's Eve!

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 7:25

While we are full participants in the grace-filled work of prayer, the work of prayer does not depend on us. We do not have to have everything perfect when we pray. The Spirit reshapes, refines, and reinterprets our feeble, ego-driven prayers. We can rest in this work of the Spirit on our behalf.

But it gets even better. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest...Do we realize what this means?...Continual prayer is being offered at the throne of God on our behalf by none other than the eternal Son...We can rest in this work of the Son on our behalf.

--Richard Foster, from Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home

Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we can come to you just as we are; broken or discouraged as we may be, and that you hear our prayers and send forth the help and the love and the strength that we need. Thank you that we do not have to have perfect words or pretty phrases when we pray to you. Thank you that our High Priest Jesus is before you interceding for us, praying for us continually. We love you and bless you for your greatness and your ever-flowing grace. Amen.

Healing Broken Hearts

Today's encouragement comes from a very healing book called Making Peace With Your Father by David Stoop, PhD. This book is very helpful and life-giving to those who have various kinds of issues with their earthly father. It is a Christian book written by a Christian counselor who is very knowledgeable in psychology, etc. I would recommend this book to anyone for help along their journey of healing and wholeness. Below is an excerpt of the section called "God Our Healing Father."

God specializes in healing broken hearts. Isaiah wrote of God's Messiah, "The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind" (Isaiah 61:1) When he announced the beginning of his ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus took those words to himself. In so doing, he showed us God's loving, compassionate heart.

David also assures us that "the Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking" (Psalm 34:18) He adds in another place that God "heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3)

God knows our pain, our loss, our disappointments. He longs to heal our brokenness. He could do so instantly -- but then we would not learn the lessons that are vital to our healing. For most of us, his promise to heal our broken hearts will be fulfilled over a period of time.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews assures that "this High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses...So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need" (Heb. 4:15-16) We can stay there as long as we need to in order to experience the fullness of God's healing grace.

Father, I pray in the name of your Son Jesus, Yeshua, today that you would begin the healing in all who read this message of grace today. I pray your love would pour over them in a tangible way, that your presence would manifest around them as they read and come before your throne of grace. I pray they would be filled with all hope in you. Amen.

Welcome to my Grace Place!

Hello to all my friends and fellow strangers in Blogland! I just really felt it was on my heart to start a blog specifically targeted to extending God's GRACE to all whose path happens to cross this page. The Lord is really teaching me these days about His grace...His abundant, merciful and kind heart. God's heart is so big, we cannot even begin to fathom it.

I want to invite you on a grace journey with me. I pray that this blog will be a place of rest and refuge for you in a weary and dry land where there is no water. I pray that this blog will encourage you each and every time you visit, not to do more or perform better or try harder, but to simply rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross and to drink from Him; the Living Water of life.

I am praying to be led always by His Spirit in what I post, whether it be my own writings, famous quotes, Bible verses with devotions or book excerpts. Yet there are two main things this blog will continually focus on: the GRACE and the LOVE of our Heavenly Father toward all He has made. So, please come often and enjoy the shalom you will surely find as we go along this journey of giving it all to the God who loves us and created us to be loved and to love.

Shalom until next time. I leave you with this thought, that God's GRACE is sufficient for you. His grace is sufficient alone, with nothing added to it. You are complete in Jesus who created you and loves you unconditionally.

Love and peace to you today!