Isaiah 12:2

 

"Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are suffering, and those who feel helpless to do anything about it. Please pray that they keep their focus on God, that they don't waver in their faith. Pray that they find encouragement in the word and through prayer. Pray that they lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ who love them.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #helpless #worry #trust #prayer #faith #love #suffering #pain #purpose #strong #courageous

Deuteronomy 31:6

 

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are suffering, and those who feel helpless to do anything about it. Please pray that they keep their focus on God, that they don't waver in their faith. Pray that they find encouragement in the word and through prayer. Pray that they lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ who love them.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #helpless #worry #trust #prayer #faith #love #suffering #pain #purpose #strong #courageous

Give it up to God

My experience has been that when I give my problems up to the Lord, my load seems lessened, my problems or worries seem smaller, more manageable. I'm able to think clearer.

     Someone posted this on Twitter yesterday and it kind of brought things into perspective:

"Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday." Dale Carnegie 

     I tried to remember all of the things I've worried about this week and did any of them happen? Did my worries do anyone any good? The answer to both questions is "no."

     Then, I looked at what I've prayed for this week, and were any of them answered? Did my prayers do anyone any good? The answer to both questions is "yes."

     God is here for us. We need Him. We can't go this alone. Look to Him when you feel helpless. Lean on Him.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

    From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

    he who keeps you will not slumber.

Psalm 121:1-3 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are suffering, and those who feel helpless to do anything about it. Please pray that they keep their focus on God, that they don't waver in their faith. Pray that they find encouragement in the word and through prayer. Pray that they lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ who love them.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #helpless #worry #trust #prayer #faith #love #suffering #pain #purpose

All we can do is pray

 

There is a woman who worries to the point of excess. Not only does she worry about family and friends, but also about things that have nothing to do with her. She builds up these 'what if' scenarios in her mind about things that could go wrong, some of which are so creative and outlandish that it scares me.

     I've tried to convince her that she suffers from anxiety, but she doesn't believe me and, therefore, won't do anything about it. The physical results of this are high blood pressure and a stroke. So then I worry. It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? Worry begets worry. Anxiety begets anxiety. All of it takes a toll on us.

     As I was preparing to write this, it occurred to me that it all comes down to control. I can't do anything about the actions and decisions of others, so I'm going to worry about them. At least in that way, I'm doing something. It fills two needs within us:

- to be in charge

- to help others

     How often have you said or heard others say, "All we can do is pray?" All we can do--as in, we can't really do anything. Oh well. At least praying makes us feel like we're doing something. That is just so wrong! Praying should be our first defense! It's THE prize, not the consolation prize! 

     Jesus prayed all the time. Do you think He would do that if it was just an exercise in futility? Do you think Jesus prayed because He didn't feel like He could do something more important? No! Of course not! He did it because it was an important course of action and because He knew His Father in Heaven heard His prayers.

     Our prayers can make a difference in the lives of others. So, whenever you feel helpless or emboldened (in other words, always), pray to our Father, who loves us.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, 

believe that you have received it, 

and it will be yours.”

Mark 11:24 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are suffering, and those who feel helpless to do anything about it. Please pray that they keep their focus on God, that they don't waver in their faith. Pray that they find encouragement in the word and through prayer. Pray that they lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ who love them.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #helpless #worry #trust #prayer #faith #love #suffering #pain #purpose

When there's no sorrow

 

As is typical, whatever the topic we're praying about, suddenly I see many posts about the same subject. God is so cool when He does stuff like that!

Two examples from yesterday: 

"If God brings you to it; He will bring you through it." (found on Twitter)

<--- then I found this on FaceBook

It's things like this that show me how God orchestrates everything, even the little stuff. Maybe we don't understand the pain and suffering. We ask, 'how can a loving God allow this?' The truth is that sin and death entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That is why we suffer. We have to remember that it's just for a short time, though. Soon we'll be resting where there is no more sorrow and no more suffering. God made it so that that could happen because He loves us so very much.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:4 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are suffering, and those who feel helpless to do anything about it. Please pray that they keep their focus on God, that they don't waver in their faith. Pray that they find encouragement in the word and through prayer. Pray that they lean on their brothers and sisters in Christ who love them.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #helpless #worry #trust #prayer #faith #love #suffering #pain #purpose

A new life

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1 Peter 1:3 NKJV 

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #love #mercy #faithfulness

Strain to what lies ahead

 

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #love #mercy #faithfulness

Your new self

 

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #love #mercy #faithfulness

A new creation

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #love #mercy #faithfulness

New each morning

 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning; 

great is your faithfulness. 

“The Lord is my portion,” 

says my soul, 

"therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for the new year. Pray for physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Pray that through the turmoil, we will see an unprecedented number of people come to know Jesus and that God will be glorified through it all. Pray for the Church to be united and of one mind so that non-believers may see the peace and hope we have in Jesus.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #Jesus #NewYear2021 #new #hope #God #love #mercy #faithfulness

Focus on love

It's difficult to be discontent when you stop and count your blessings. It's difficult to be discontent when you stop and focus on God, on His love for you and (hopefully) your love in Him. Our Father is with us always. He understands our moods. He knows we sin and are going to continue to sin. He knows that we often try to live life without Him. Yet He loves us. Meditate on that today and share this with someone you know who is feeling discontent.

So we have come to know and to believe 

the love that God has for us. 

God is love, 

and whoever abides in love abides 

in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:16 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is discontent.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

A representative of Christ

And whatever you do in word or deed, 

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 3:17 NKJV

God is good

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1 ESV

Signs from God

You may think I'm crazy, but I believe that God gives me signs when I ask for them. Some Christians don't believe that He does that anymore and all I can say is, "ya-huh" (as in, 'He does too'). Either way, I would feel very remiss if I didn't share this testimony with you...
     My husband and I had a bit of a rocky start in our relationship in 2011, 2012, 2013...so I would ask God for a certain sign that everything would be okay, that my husband and I would get married someday and live happily ever after (okay, maybe that last part is a stretch). Each time, God gave me this sign and each time we worked things out and we did get married.
     Back in May of this year, God gave me that sign again, just out of the blue and I thought, "Huh. That's strange," because I didn't ask for that reassurance and as far as I was concerned my husband and I were getting along fine. Well, I got home and words were said and I moved out.
     I was so crushed that I wanted to just put everything behind me and sever all ties and even get divorce proceedings going. The whole time, God kept giving me this one sign over and over again and I was so confused even though I knew what He was trying to tell me, but I kept telling Him that I was confused, so He had the Pastor call me and tell me to "slow down." I couldn't ignore that, so I did slow down and calm down. My heart even softened. We communicated through the Pastor for a couple of days and then started texting each other, and then started seeing each other.
     We started actually communicating for the first time ever and decided we were ready to reconcile, but I still had some doubts and I wasn't sure if the timing was right to move out of my mom's house because of everything she's dealing with so I asked God for a sign. I wanted to do this in God's time not our time because up until this point, our timing hadn't been very successful, but my husband assured me that it was time and that I didn't need a sign from God to tell me that, so I listened to him - all the while feeling funny about it. I thought about King Saul not waiting for Nathan like he was instructed and you know what a disaster that was! I started thinking maybe the sign I asked for was too far-fetched, but it really wasn't impossible, just unlikely unless it was from God. My husband played this song from 1994 at our wedding and we danced to it for the first time as husband and wife. It wasn't "our song" and it wasn't even from an artist that I was particularly fond of so I couldn't remember the title or any of the lyrics when I asked this of God, but I knew that when I heard it, I would know that was the song and I would know that it was from God. I could've heard it in someone's car, or at a restaurant; it could've even become a commercial jingle, but I never heard it.
     Last night I did 2 things...1. was admit to a trusted friend my role in the failing of my marriage. 2.  was begin a Christian lesson on being a Godly wife. I'm not sure which of those 2 things did it, or if it was a combination, but I got ready for bed and started singing that song out loud. After I sang the chorus I literally was stopped in my tracks. Where did that come from?! How did that song pop in my head? And I had to drop down and give praise to God for coming through for me and giving me this clear sign that I'm doing what He wants me to do when He wants me to it. This was such a wow moment for me that my heart is just so completely replenished with love and optimism for the future. I had been depressed all week and didn't know why; now I realize it's because I felt like God didn't want me to move back in yet. All of these obstacles kept blocking my progress, but now I know that I have a green light because now I have this sign from God.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 1:17 NKJV

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Please join me this week in gratitude for our Lord and Saviour. Let's give thanks for His love, mercy, and grace. Let's rejoice for His answers to our prayers.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

His steadfast love

During the past year, God has heard our prayers and worked out in His perfect timing to answer several prayers in a combination and sequence to heal numerous hearts.

When we prayed for the lonely, the elderly, widows and widowers, parents and family, He brought them all together in one household to help each other through their lonliness and grief. He helped the elderly widow find new purpose and a sense of being needed.

When we prayed for our Pastors, a changed heart, those who moved home, those facing a life change, for patience, to listen, those considering a divorce, God stepped in and had the Pastor call me to soften my heart and listen to my husband and really hear him and consider what he was feeling. I had moved home not because of a failed marriage, but because that's where God needed me to be at that time for my mom who had just lost my dad, for my daughter who had just sold her house. When all of this happened, I couldn't see the "why" but stepping back and seeing the whole sequence of events, I'm in awe of what God orchestrated to help those in my life whom I had prayed for and to help me through my grief and what I was going through emotionally. My husband and I have reconciled and our marriage is so much better now. This had to happen the way it happened in order to fulfill God's plan to answer our prayers. We're here to build relationships and be there for each other and to bring glory to Him. We can glorify Him by being image-bearers and praising how He works in our lives. God is love.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1 ESV

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Please join me this week in gratitude for our Lord and Saviour. Let's give thanks for His love, mercy, and grace. Let's rejoice for His answers to our prayers.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Walk in love

And walk in love, 

as Christ loved us and 

gave Himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. 

It is no longer I who live, 

but Christ who lives in me. 

And the life I now live in the flesh 

I live by faith in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

A new commandment

A new commandment I give to you, 

that you love one another: 

just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 13:34 ESV

Love and joy perfected

 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
John 15:9-17 NKJV

He loved us first

We as Christians are the most blessed people on the planet because we are the only ones who know the love of Jesus.

In this is love, not that we loved God, 

but that He loved us and sent 

His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:10 NKJV

Please join our prayer group as we spend the week celebrating the love of Jesus.

I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

First love

We love Him because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19 NKJV