Peace, Power, and Energy with Prayer (day79/365)

So many good things come from positive thinking. Today we’ll only look at peace, power, and energy. Norman Vincent Peale first published “The Power of Positive Thinking” in 1953 and by 1991 had sold two million copies. There just might be a thing or two in this book that we could take notice of.

Rather than being directed and defeated by the circumstances around us, we can take control and enjoy peace of mind, improved health, energy, joy and satisfaction. We need to clean out the fears, hates, insecurities, regrets and guilt feelings and replace them with creative and healthy thoughts.

When lacking confidence, the following is a great affirmation to say over and over. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Connecting with our higher power and praying has an unequaled effect on dealing with our problems. By releasing prayer power to doubts, fears and insecurities, they can be banished and replaced by peace and confidence. The bigger our problems, the bigger our prayers should be.

After praying, should come visualisation then the actualisation happens.
People praying and visualising are finding they feel better, sleep better, work better, do better, are better.

To help with developing a peaceful mind it is helpful to daily practice having a quiet time. The prescription is for 15 minutes of no noise, no thoughts, no reading, no writing. Just listening for the deep sounds of harmony, beauty and God.

This will help with energy levels too. Discharging any emotional upheaval can help to develop an uninterrupted flow of energy into the mind and body. Keep thoughts positive. How we think we feel definitely has an effect on how we actually feel physically.

Stay tuned. More good stuff to come.

Sharing Our Faith (day61/365)

Nicky Gumbel in “Questions of Life” states there are three reasons we would want to share our faith in God.

It is a command of Jesus. “Go” appears 1514 times in the bible.

There is a desperate need for people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

Having discovered the good news ourselves, we feel an urgent desire to pass it on.

There is a problem however if we are insensitive in our enthusiasm. We need to remember that our actions are often stronger and more readily accepted than our words. We are more likely to affect others with our consistency, honesty, truthfulness, hard work, reliability, avoiding gossip, encouraging others, patience, kindness, service to others, purity, reverence, love and concern.

When someone is asking questions about the reason we are so peaceful, joyful, and enthusiastic about life be prepared to give an answer to the one seeking hope for their world. Be gentle and respectful.

For all of us, there is the power of prayer. Don’t underestimate this communication with God. He listens to our requests for Him to give life to our loved ones.

Why And How Do I Pray? (day55/365)

At the time of writing “Questions of Life”, Nicky Gumbel found that three-quarters of sceptical, secular Britain admitted to praying once a week.

Many pray prayers taught to us as young children by grandma or mum. Many also pray in crisis situations. It is amazing how many coincidences happen when we pray, including these situations.

The power of prayer does depend on our apprehension of who it is with whom we speak. Jesus through his death removed the barrier to God Almighty. The Holy Spirit lives in us also and helps us to pray.

Reasons for praying:-

To develop a relationship with the God of the universe.
Thanksgiving
Praise
Adoration
Confession
Listening for guidance, instruction
Prayer changes situations

Can we expect prayer to be answered? -

Unconfessed sin causes a barrier between us and God. So confess it, receive forgiveness and pray away.
The answer to prayer will either be YES, NO, or WAIT.
Asking for things according to God’s Will attracts more answers in the affirmative.

Suggestion on how to pray:-

A – adoration. Praising God for who he is and what he has done.
C – confession. Asking God’s forgiveness for anything we have done
wrong.
T – thanksgiving. Health, family, friends etc.
S – supplication. Praying for ourselves, for friends, for others.

The pattern of the Lord’s prayer is also a great one to follow. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Prayer is at the heart of Christianity, because at the heart of Christianity is a relationship with God. That is why it is the most important activity of our lives.

Phases Of Faith (day26/365)

Like a plant faith grows. Robert H. Schuller in “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do”, gives us 5 phases of how our faith grows.

Nesting Phase
Firstly, we need to believe that all people have creative potential.
When our pride and self-respect are intact we can free our mind to explore ideas. So the first thing we need to do is believe in the ideas that God sends us. Respect for these positive ideas that flow into our imagination is the beginning of greatness.

Testing Phase
Next, we need to ask ourselves, “Will this idea cause my life and my activity to be an inspiration to somebody else to become a better person or to achieve more in their life?” When we can think about and attract unselfish ideas, we are on the right track.

Investing Phase
This is a point of no return. Here we make the commitment to invest our time, energy, money, pride, prestige, emotions. Making the commitment public gives us overwhelming odds to succeed.

Arresting Phase
Another testing time. Problems loom. What do we do? We have the choice to hang on or give up; keep believing or quit. Besides our own fulfillment being on the line, we need to ask ourselves, “Which response will inspire the most people?”

Cresting Phase
When we’ve kept on keeping on, we make it! We are successful, we have achieved, we have overcome! How good does it feel? We are then also an inspiration to others to keep bravely fighting their battles too.

Schuller devotes a whole chapter to the power of prayer. Don’t underestimate the power that prayer to our divine master has to bring our dreams to fruition. God made us, he cares for us and wants the absolute best for us. Why not give it a go?