BBD 06.14.11 We MUST Pray (Classic)

#1 · June 14, 2011, 10:17 am

Quote from Forum Archives on June 14, 2011, 10:17 am
Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net
www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 18,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is
made up of more than 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive
prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you love to send and receive inspirational emails the Burning Bush
Inspirational Group is for you. To join send an email to
bbinspire-join@welovegod.org

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at
www.theburningbush.net.
Free Books for the Kindle are available at the Burning Bush website.
Forwarding of this email is encouraged and appreciated!!

The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 7521 new subscribers since January 1, 2011!!
There were 4010 new subscribers during 2010!!
Classic from 2006

06.14.11

We MUST Pray

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose
heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor
regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,
'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while; but
afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me.'" Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him,
though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them
speedily." - Luke 18:1-8a.

Have you ever talked to your car? I have to confess, that I have talked to a
car before, when it didn't do what I thought it ought to do. Such as when
the car wouldn't start, or it left me stranded on the side of the road.
Maybe my car would have performed better, if I had given words of
encouragement and lavished praise on my car, as nearly half (47%) of those
in Britain are reported to do. At the beginning of a trip, those car owners
who talk to their vehicles are said to give verbal encouragement to their
cars; and when they are at the end of their trip, they give the vehicle
praise. A survey has reported, that 40 per cent of car owners in Britain
believe their car has a personality, and 19 per cent were even concerned
about the feelings of their car. Maybe they have watched "Herbie, the Love
Bug" too many times?

I do have a suggestion, for what to do instead of giving encouragement to a
vehicle before starting on a trip, and what to do upon ending a trip.
Instead of talking to your car, talk to God. Ask God for your vehicle to
perform well, and for protection during the trip, and the day. Upon ending
the trip, give praise not to the car, but to God. In "Experiencing God",
Henry Blackaby tells of how with a car in poor condition, he drove hundreds
of miles to mission churches. He says that the car was prayed there, and
back, each time.

Of course, prayer should be at the forefront of things to do every day. The
apostle Paul did say in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should "pray
continually (NIV)" ("pray without ceasing" - KJV and NKJV). In Luke 18:1,
the phrase "ought to pray", does not quite communicate the emphasis that
should be on prayer. "Ought to" should be translated as "must", and then the
phrase would be rendered as, "they must always pray."

The parable in Luke 18, that Jesus relates, is an encouragement to never
give up on prayer. We have been in a drought in the area where I live, and
we are praying for rain. The rain needed to break the drought has not yet
come. However, you must not give up in praying, whether for rain, or for
other areas of life, because even Elijah had to pray seven times before a
cloud the size of a man's fist was seen (1 Kings 18:42-45).

We have been given a great privilege to enter into the presence of the
thrice holy (Revelation 4:8), and One true God (Hebrews 4:15-17) when we
pray in the Name of Jesus (John 16:23). Remember we not only "ought to
pray", but we "must" pray. Also, the next time you watch "Herbie the Love
Bug", remember it is... just a movie.

Copyright © 2006-2011. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush
website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email
version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began
writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be
forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need
of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The
devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can
leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks
designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach
those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me
reach out to them.

For information about how to hear my testimony in your church visit this
link: www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=22160

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at:
connect.tangle.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
www.kkbifm.com/
Several videos of Clark's sermons can be found at his church website:
www.fbcbrokenbow.com

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net
http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 18,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is
made up of more than 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive
prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you love to send and receive inspirational emails the Burning Bush
Inspirational Group is for you. To join send an email to
bbinspire-join@welovegod.org

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at
http://www.theburningbush.net.
Free Books for the Kindle are available at the Burning Bush website.
Forwarding of this email is encouraged and appreciated!!

The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 7521 new subscribers since January 1, 2011!!
There were 4010 new subscribers during 2010!!
Classic from 2006

06.14.11

We MUST Pray

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose
heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor
regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,
'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while; but
afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me.'" Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him,
though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them
speedily." - Luke 18:1-8a.

Have you ever talked to your car? I have to confess, that I have talked to a
car before, when it didn't do what I thought it ought to do. Such as when
the car wouldn't start, or it left me stranded on the side of the road.
Maybe my car would have performed better, if I had given words of
encouragement and lavished praise on my car, as nearly half (47%) of those
in Britain are reported to do. At the beginning of a trip, those car owners
who talk to their vehicles are said to give verbal encouragement to their
cars; and when they are at the end of their trip, they give the vehicle
praise. A survey has reported, that 40 per cent of car owners in Britain
believe their car has a personality, and 19 per cent were even concerned
about the feelings of their car. Maybe they have watched "Herbie, the Love
Bug" too many times?

I do have a suggestion, for what to do instead of giving encouragement to a
vehicle before starting on a trip, and what to do upon ending a trip.
Instead of talking to your car, talk to God. Ask God for your vehicle to
perform well, and for protection during the trip, and the day. Upon ending
the trip, give praise not to the car, but to God. In "Experiencing God",
Henry Blackaby tells of how with a car in poor condition, he drove hundreds
of miles to mission churches. He says that the car was prayed there, and
back, each time.

Of course, prayer should be at the forefront of things to do every day. The
apostle Paul did say in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should "pray
continually (NIV)" ("pray without ceasing" - KJV and NKJV). In Luke 18:1,
the phrase "ought to pray", does not quite communicate the emphasis that
should be on prayer. "Ought to" should be translated as "must", and then the
phrase would be rendered as, "they must always pray."

The parable in Luke 18, that Jesus relates, is an encouragement to never
give up on prayer. We have been in a drought in the area where I live, and
we are praying for rain. The rain needed to break the drought has not yet
come. However, you must not give up in praying, whether for rain, or for
other areas of life, because even Elijah had to pray seven times before a
cloud the size of a man's fist was seen (1 Kings 18:42-45).

We have been given a great privilege to enter into the presence of the
thrice holy (Revelation 4:8), and One true God (Hebrews 4:15-17) when we
pray in the Name of Jesus (John 16:23). Remember we not only "ought to
pray", but we "must" pray. Also, the next time you watch "Herbie the Love
Bug", remember it is... just a movie.

Copyright © 2006-2011. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush
website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email
version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began
writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be
forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need
of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The
devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can
leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks
designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach
those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me
reach out to them.

For information about how to hear my testimony in your church visit this
link: http://www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=22160

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at:
connect.tangle.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
http://www.kkbifm.com/
Several videos of Clark's sermons can be found at his church website:
http://www.fbcbrokenbow.com

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.