7 Prayers That Work

In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant back to Ur, the country of his origin, to find a wife for his son Isaac.  Abraham instructed his servant: 1. Don't take my son away from here (the Promised Land--where God had called them to be) 2. Don't find a wife from here (because this is a pagan culture) 3. Go back to our people for his wife 4. God will send an angel ahead to prepare her Pretty cool idea. So here's a prayer for your son or daughter's future spouse -- Lord God, I have already dedicated my child to you. I trust you with him/her. You created this child in the womb, perfectly crafting every part of him/her, just as you wished, because You have a special calling and mission for him/her. You want him/her to love and serve you all his/her life. You are protecting, providing, and disciplining him/her, molding him/her into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus. You love this child more than I do, which is saying a lot. You know what is best an...

I'm reading my way through Jeremiah. There's a lot of prophecies and punishments pronounced against the Jews, particularly Judah. They are invaded by the Babylonians and hauled off as slaves. The famous verse Jer. 29:11 appears, promising a hope and a future, but the promise occurs in the context of abduction and 70 years enslavement in Babylon. The Jews--and us, if we make application--are blessed when they obey and punished when they don't. My reading today was Jeremiah 34-35. A family called the Recabites have kept a promise to live for generations without drinking alcohol, sowing crops, or building houses for generations, This came out of obeying a forefather's command. The theme of obedience--not the command itself--is praised by the Lord. Here's the principle that struck me and the prayer I took away from it: "Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recites, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God is Israel says,: "You have obeyed the co...