Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. I’ve found the best answer to that struggle is the practice of praying the Bible. Think of it as having a conversation with God. God starts the conversation by speaking to us through His Word. Praying the Bible is simply responding to the conversation that God our Father has already started. This is a great practical relief for me! I don’t need to wait until I’m especially inspired or sharp to approach God in prayer. I just open the Bible, read what God says in His Word, and respond. It’s that simple. Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.Moments later, after the death of Jesus, the earth shook. The Gospel of Matthew records, “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!'” (Matthew 27:54). God the Father opened the eyes of the centurion and others to see the identity of Christ, thus showing how God answered Jesus’s prayer. Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom ( 1 Kings 3:7-9) and Dedication of the Temple ( 1 Kings 8:22-53): “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” In verse 11, the Pharisee stood proudly by himself in front of many people boasting of how righteous he was. His prayer focused on the good things he made for God. Self-righteousness is dangerous. It leads to the pride that might cause us to despise others and prevents us from learning from God. The Pharisee relied on his own ‘good works’ but remember, it is not because of our own efforts that we are saved. It is by God’s grace and mercy. God Looks At Our Hearts Being angry is a valid and just emotion. It is okay to get angry. Jesus got angry too. In Matthew 21:12-17 and John 2: 13-17 where he found the people of Jerusalem had turned God’s temple into a marketplace. Jesus got angry and overturned tables because they have defiled the holiness of the temple courts. Be Angry, But Do Not Sin

Hezekiah’s Prayer (2 Kings 19:15-19): And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (verses 1–4) Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (verses 4–5)Ever since creation, God has wanted His people to enjoy His blessing (Genesis 1:28). Sin brought the curse into the world, but God promised to bless the whole world through Abraham’s seed, a promise fully realized in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3). When we pray this blessing for ourselves or others, we ask God to fulfill His purposes in blessing His people with His peace and presence. Life is a present from God. And He is the only one that has the power to give life and preserve life. Make it a daily habit to thank God for keeping us alive. We may not be facing the life-threatening situations David went through as seen in verse 9 (thank God for this too!) but it always pleases God when we thank Him for preserving our lives to do His good works. Be Bold And Give Thanks Aloud Father God, we praise you for the wonderful future that you have prepared for us through the death and resurrection of you Son, Jesus Christ. We eagerly await the day when we will enter into your presence for all eternity with holy bodies untainted by sin. Please help us to not lose heart when we face the many pressures, anxieties, and troubles of life in this fallen world. Let us take great courage in the knowledge that you’ve given us the Holy Spirit to prepare our souls for our kingdom dwelling with you. Thank you for letting Jesus live in us. It is in his name that we pray, Amen. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 As one of the pioneer deacons of the early church and the first-ever Christian martyr, Stephen was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit ( Acts 6:5). Just like Paul, he went around preaching God’s word and has made prayers in the Bible. While being stoned to death, Stephen prayed that God will have compassion for the people who were stoning him.

One of the most powerful prayers in the Bible made by women that we ought to look at is Hannah’s. Hannah was a faith-filled woman but faced the problem of barrenness, which was once c onsidered shameful. Hannah prayed to the Lord in the temple of Shiloh for a son and vowed that she will dedicate her child to Him. The Lord granted her prayer and gave her a son whom she called Samuel. This prayer of adoration was made by Hannah in gratitude. Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Genesis 37:1-11

Help me lift my eyes and set my mind on divine things instead of human things. Help me take up my cross and follow You. To lose my life for Your sake and the sake of the gospel. I don’t want to be ashamed of You in this world, but instead be bold to proclaim You goodness. For, in the end, what good will it do me to gain the whole world, yet forfeit my own life?