Prayers for Buffalo

I’m sure you’ve heard on the news that Buffalo, New York was the latest victim of the wave of senseless, mass killings that continue to plague this country. Even though it happened about 25 minutes from where I live, and in a part of town that I rarely go to, I am still very shaken by this. Good people in my city lost their lives, or had them negatively changed forever.

In addition, I am very angry at this. I know this space is reserved for positive thoughts, and I do have some encouragement. In a lot of ways I don’t know what to think, nor what to do. It is in situations like that, where I resort to the only thing I know what to do, and that is to pray.

This may upset some people, but I must say that I am rather sick of life in the good ol’ D.S.A (Divided States of America) these days. People hate each other, mass shootings are daily news stories, the land of the free has more restrictions than I can count, and common people can’t even afford to live anymore. I can do my part, and so can you. However, we can only do so much. We need God’s intervention. Now!

God does respond to prayer. I know some of you are wondering where He was when this was happening. I wish I had an answer for why He allows these things to happen, but I don’t. I just know that when I leave things to Him, He comes through. Always.

This situation is happening all over this country. It was the first time people in my city have had to cope with this. If things don’t change, it won’t be the last. I ask you to join me in prayer for Buffalo, and for the protection of every other city in the States. We need the madness in our country to end sooner than later. I believe prayer is powerful, and we can use it as one of the ways to unite and change the country and the world for the better. Thank you 🙂

A Different Take On The Lord’s Prayer

If you’ve ever been in any type of Christian church, I’m sure you have heard and probably recited the Lord’s Prayer. In some churches, it is known as the “Our Father” prayer.

In case you are not familiar, Jesus was instructing His disciples of how NOT to pray. Then He showed them the ideal way to pray, which is provided for us with this prayer in the New Testament.

I recently read this prayer in several different versions, and I was able to break it down and make it simpler than it already is. Here’s what I came up with, not taking away from its original meaning. See if this resonates a bit easier for you:

Our Father in Heaven; May your name be kept holy. May your heavenly kingdom come (the one that you say is in our midst) and let it be our central focus; May YOUR will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; Please give us all we need for today; Forgive us for the wrong things we have done, and help us forgive those who have wronged us, helping us let go of any resentment; And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, power, and glory forever. Amen.

I believe this is already a very easy prayer to pray, but as I broke it down thanks to the many Bible translations, it made it even easier and more relevant to my life.

I share this with you in hopes that it makes it easier for you to use this prayer for effective communication with God. As always, I invite you to share how it helps you, or other ways for us to pray more effectively. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

A Two Word Prayer That Creates Miracles

If only there was a magic word or phrase you could use in prayer to produce power and blessing in your life. It would be nice, right?

What if I told you there were two simple words you can use in your prayers to create the success and blessings you are seeking? I am sure you would want to know.

Due to the fact that I don’t believe in withholding information from my audience, I will gladly share. Before I do, I will tell you that these are two words you use on a regular basis. At least I hope you do 🙂

Are you ready? If you want to add great power to your prayers and increase the likelihood that you will live your dreams, use these simple words and mean them…THANK YOU! When you use these words sincerely, they are powerful in many ways. In any regular interaction, when you say thank you to someone, they feel appreciated, and it adds to your happiness as well. When you regularly say thank you to people, they want to do more for you. It’s the same when you thank God. I say all the time that I believe the more you are thankful for even the little things, the greater blessings you will receive.

In addition to the benefits of demonstrating gratitude that I mention above, I believe it goes far beyond that, especially when you pray. As mentioned, when you are thankful for what you have, you receive more. However, I have been challenged by several authors and speakers to take it a step further. It is very powerful, and I share the suggestion with you. Before your prayer has been answered and before you even have what you desire, say THANK YOU!

I have shared this concept of thank you in advance before. I have followed this advice and reaped its benefits. I was recently reminded about it again and felt the need to share. Saying thank you in advance is beneficial in several ways:

• It maintains a feeling of gratitude – Instead of focusing on the fact that you don’t have your desire yet, you focus on the joyful expectation of having it. It’s this positive feeling that brings the desire faster.
• It helps increase your faith – When you are saying thank you even though you haven’t experienced your wish yet, you are demonstrating the faith Jesus condones in Mark 11:23 when he says that if you pray and believe you already have what you desire, it will be yours.
• It motivates you to action – When you are thankful and faithful that your fulfilled wish is only a matter of time from manifesting, you are much more likely to take the action necessary to make it happen. Instead of procrastinating, you are looking for any opportunity to act and accomplish the goal sooner than later.

These are just a few ways that saying thank you and maintaining the attitude of gratitude as you pray for your desire can make it happen, and bring it about quickly. This is because it keeps your thoughts and feelings right, and provides the feeling of having your desire now. It is this combination that helps rapidly manifest any goal.  If you follow this mindset you will not only be saying thank you in advance, but you will be saying many more after the wish comes true.

If you are seeking further ways to experience your goals and desires quickly, I recommend you check out my free e-book. The Ease and Keys of Rapid Manifestation. I thank you in advance for reading 🙂

An Unnecessary Qualifier To a Faithful Concept

There are plenty of very inspirational Bible verses that we can use to enhance our lives. However, they are often interfered with by some unnecessary ideas that prevent miracles from taking place.

To clarify what I am talking about, I will share the verse that reminded me of this today. It is from Matthew 21:22 and it says “if you believe, you will receive anything you ask for in prayer”. The verse is very powerful. Simply believe and you can have the wonderful life you are craving. Sounds great, right?

The problem is that there are two groups of people who distort this. I will explain, but before I do, please understand I am not being harsh on these groups. That’s because I’ve been in both places at one point, and I can certainly relate. First, there are those whose eyes light up when they see the “anything” part of it, and use this as a reason to utilize God as a genie to bring “stuff” into their lives for their own pleasure. The second group consists of those skeptical and paranoid people who see anything as receiving blessing in life as being automatically associated with a prosperity gospel, and name it and claim it mentality. I can say I never felt this way, and you may not either. The problem is that in the past I enable these people to make me believe I was wrong to ask God for great things. As a result, I held back and didn’t ask.

In recent times I have simply learned to take this verse for what it is…a wonderful, faithful promise from God. It’s a fact that God wants to bless you, and a promise that He will. Here’s a thought that will eliminate both of the negatives from above. If your requests are in line with God’s will, they will be granted. And I will say that God’s will is a very broad spectrum. The things that are outside of His will are those that are either for purely selfish motives, or those that will hurt others. If it doesn’t fit into those categories, it’s part of His will. Sometimes His will is that your answer is delayed, or that you receive something better instead. However, know that if your desire is within His guidelines and commandments, there is no reason not to ask.

Here’s an example of a touchy topic. Many people are afraid to pray for more money because of the taboo (love of money is evil, you’re being greedy, God wants you to be poor, etc.) associated with it. Can a prayer for money be outside of God’s will? Yes, if you are asking in order to flaunt it, be selfish with it, or plan to gain it by doing something illegal or immoral. However, that’s it. If you are asking for it to improve the quality of your life and share it with others so they can do the same, you are perfectly in line with the will of God. In fact, living a life of poverty and debt is much more outside of the will of God than being prosperous.

After saying all this, I encourage you to read this verse again in it’s proper light. Pray to God in confidence, knowing that He hears your prayers and cherishes the opportunity to answer them. Instead of adding the unnecessary qualifiers, boldly ask God in faith for your greatest desires to be fulfilled. Envision it coming to pass, and do your simple part of believing. He will take care of the rest in ways you can’t even imagine. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

The Power of Asking

I recently completed another year of carrying on a tradition in my Spanish classroom. My students always look forward to the unit on issuing commands in Spanish. This is because, if they say it correctly, I allow my students to command me to do things. It gets a little crazy as they command me to do all kinds of crazy things. For example, I have had to sing songs by Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, perform the latest dances (I’m one of the worst dancers on this earth), and put a garbage can over my head. I don’t give money, but I have obliged with reaquests for candy, pizza, and ice cream.

This year was nice too because one student simply requested a lunch fiesta outside of the chaos of the cafeteria for her and four of her friends. She was very suprised that I obliged so easily to her request and those of others.

The above lesson is the one I wanted to convey to her, my classes, and now to you. Many were surprised that they received some nice rewards simply by asking. Knowing that they can receive such things, it’s a wonder that every 8th grader didn’t ask for something. However, it’s quite ironic that very few students asked. Part of this was because they didn’t know how to say it, or did not want to speak Spanish. I would think though, that some didn’t feel like they had the right to ask. They figured that they were not worthy of asking for even a large candy bar or cup of ice cream.

The above mentality represents many people in our society today. They don’t ask for or seek great things, simply because they don’t feel worthy. At one time I would put myself in that category. However, I learn more that to receive the blessings I am seeking, all I have to do is ask! That was my life lesson to these students. You can receive great gifts in life simply by politely asking. This was proven as students enjoyed the wonderful goodies they gained simply by asking for them.

Please know the same is true for you. Many times you can receive what you want simply by asking. People have received raises at their job simply by asking their boss. Many others receive blessings by asking God. Speaking of God, how many times does He promise in the Bible that He will bless us if we would only ask? Remember, you have not because you ask not.

Do you always get what you want just by asking? No, but that’s a good thing. I did not comply with all of my students’ commands. This was partially for budget reasons, but one of the guidelines is that the command won’t be harmful or embarrassing to someone else, or interrupt the learning environment in other classes. However, I still encouraged students to ask for anything because the worst I could say was no, but there was a chance they could receive what they wanted.

It’s the same for you. You may ask for something and will be told no. Still, why not ask? You never know the answer until you do. God will even say no to some of your prayers. If He does, please know it’s to avoid you or someone being harmed or embararrased. And please realize…unlike me, God has no budget! Know that He can do and provide anything for you. Many times He is simply waiting for you to ask.

Hopefully you get the message. If you want to receive or accomplish something, it is OK to ask! So please…ask! As my students found out, you can receive some unexpected gifts simply by asking for them. Since I have learned this, the blessings are multiplying in my life. They will for you too if you simply ask God in humble prayer, or if you ask people who can help you. We don’t need to get greedy, but we do need to know that it’s OK to ask for the things we want. And it will be more OK when we receive them. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

Why Do We Even Have To Ask In Prayer?

I absolutely love when I receive answers to questions I’ve had for a long time. I received another such answer recently. I know many others have the same question, so I will share this revelation with you.

Many people wonder why we have to pray. After all, God knows what we need before we even ask. He already knows we want or need what we’re asking for, and He already knows He will provide that desire or something better if not exactly what we ask for. He even knows we’re going to ask even before we do.

So the question again…if God already knows all of the information beforehand, why pray? I’ve received other answers to this question before. For example, I’ve been told prayer is simply a way to keep in communication with God. All relationships grow through communication, so this makes perfect sense. I’ve also heard that God will deliberately wait for us to pray sometimes, simply to test our faith. Once again, I completely agree.

The information I learned the other day was the best revelation yet regarding reasons for prayer. I read this in the Life Application Bible. The verse is Jeremiah 3:3 which says….Call on me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know. The study note says that God can certainly take care of needs without hearing from us, but here’s the key….when we ask, we are acknowledging that He alone is God, and that we cannot accomplish in our own strength all that it is in His domain to do. In other words, we cannot accomplish anything in our strength, without Him.

In a way, I’ve known this for a long time. I know that with Him I can do all things, and without Him I can do nothing. However, I have never really considered this in the realm of prayer. However, it can’t be more true.

So why do we pray, even though God knows our needs and requests and the outcome before we even ask? Even though He doesn’t even need our prayers? Simply because we acknowledge that we can’t do it without Him. When we realize this and surrender our desires and needs to Him, we move ourselves out of the way, and allow His blessings and miracles to pour in. It’s up to us to be aware and wait for direction, then obediently act on that direction. However, we are leaving the rest up to Him. And when you leave it to Him, there are no limits to the greatness you can receive in life.

Knowing this, why not take some time and pray to God, communicating your needs and desires. Be sure to thank Him for what you already have, and for what’s to come. Then acknowledge that all is in His hands and in His control, and ask for what you are seeking. In one way or another you will find it. Enjoy the blessings : )

How To Pray Effectively In Two Seconds Or Less

We are all familiar with the power of prayer. Miracles have happened, simply because people prayed and believed.

My question is, if it’s so easy to do and we are all aware of the wonderful power prayer brings, why do so many people avoid doing it? There are two main reasons I can think of. One is that they simply don’t know how or don’t know what to say. This can be intimidating for those who don’t know they can talk freely to a God that is always listening. The second reason is that they don’t make the time. Life gets busy, and prayer gets put on the back burner until it eventually gets squeezed out of the daily schedule.

I will say that I understand both of the above reasons, although I strongly believe that it is extremely important to put aside some time for prayer. The solution I present takes care of both problems. It is pre-scripted and it takes seconds. Ready?….here’s the simple, yet powerful prayer you can say in a second or two….Thank you!

Too many people think they have to bring a long list of requests to the prayer table or prepare  a sophisticated presentation in order for prayer to be effective. However, nothing can be further from the truth. When you are short on things to say and pressed for time, just say thank you. If you want to extend your prayer longer than a few seconds, think of several things that you are thankful for and make that your prayer. A simple “thank you for…” will do wonders.

When you are thankful and express your gratitude to God, you are setting yourself up for greater blessings. You are being faithful in the little things, and will be given even greater things to be thankful for. Also, a feeling of gratitude affects your life in so many other ways, such as feeling more peaceful, positive, confident, and loving just to name a few.

The next time you are not sure how or when to pray, take a few minutes and simply say thank you for the blessings in your life. It is time well spent. Besides the blessings you will see added to your life, you will look forward to more of this gratitude time because it will eventually become natural, and a regularly scheduled part of your day.

I will follow  this advice with you, my cherished reader. I need to leave quickly, so I will say…thank you for reading : )

A Powerful And Effective Prayer That Works

You’ve heard the statement…”there is power in prayer”. Most people believe it. However, even though many believe in prayer’s awesome power, they fail to spend significant time in prayer.

Why is that? I believe there are several reasons. One big  one is that people have busy schedules and try to cram as many things in a day as they can. Unfortunately, they don’t leave time for prayer. I believe one of the biggest reasons people don’t pray often is that they simply don’t know how. And because they don’t know how, they feel intimidated and believe that if they don’t have an all-out fancy prayer to offer, then it’s not good enough.

Please know that nothing can be further from truth. Even a one minute, on the fly prayer is better than no prayer. God is thrilled any time you make an honest effort to pray. However, if you are still looking for a formal, strong prayer that will bring results, I have one to offer.

Most of you are familiar with the Lord’s prayer. It is very effective, especially because Jesus Himself preached it. The prayer I am talking about goes back even before that one. It is the prayer of Nehemiah. It is found in Nehemiah 1:5-11. I take this from an excerpt from my e-book “30 Days To A More Powerful Life” You can get it here at…http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/30-days-to-a-more-powerful-life/13987192

Here is how the prayer breaks down. Your prayer will be very powerful and effective if it has these elements:

1. Praise/Thanksgiving – Before anything is said or asked for, Nehemiah is praising and thanking God simply for who he is.

2. Forgiveness – I believe God is much more likely to hear and answer our prayer if
we are coming to Him with a humble heart, asking for forgiveness.

3. Specific request – Once his heart is right, it is then that Nehemiah presents his
case before the Lord. He is also specific and detailed in his prayer.

4. Expect the answer and blessing – As the prayer ends it is apparent to me that
Nehemiah expects success and blessing. It is inspiration for us to expect the same. It may not happen the way we might think, but it will.

I have found this to be an extremely helpful prayer formula. It works because you are going into prayer with a pure and positive mind and heart before you ask for what you want. You are able to focus in faith on your desired outcome, and when you expect God to answer in His way, you can move on with confidence after the prayer.

This type of prayer brings results. I will share more detail about that in my next post. In the meantime, I recommend you use this excellent formula for prayer, and watch how the blessings show up. Have an excellent day!

How Sure Are You?

How sure are you that you will receive what you pray for? Did you know that it makes a major difference in whether or not you receive what you are asking for?

I’ve realized the importance of having faith for a long time. However, realizing it and acting on it are two different things. It’s only recently that I’ve really seen the difference between prayers of hope and prayers of faith.

I understand that sometimes God answers our “hopeful” prayers. However, think of how many more blessings you can receive if you strongly believe that you will receive what you are asking for. Several verses in the book of James in the Bible stand out. “You have not because you ask not”. “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” That’s a scary thought isn’t it? I will receive fewer blessings because of my lack of faith. That’s something no one wants.

God has continued to remind me of not only faith, but the concept of worthiness. I have recently written some other posts about that topic. I have read stories about how Godly men seemed to demand answers from God…and they received them with no resistence!

Those men in the Bible are no more powerful than you. If God will answer their prayers, there’s no reason He won’t be honored to answer yours. I am not advocating going to God in a prideful manner and demanding with arrogance that your prayers be answered. In fact, in some cases it’s better for you that your prayers are not answered. I am instead saying that you are worthy to pray and ask. I am saying that when you pray in faith, you will receive either what you ask for or something better. No less!

I ask you again…how sure are you that God will answer your prayer? Know that He desperately wants to bless you, but in many cases, he is waiting for you to ask in faith. What is it you desire most today? Know that it’s yours for the asking, pray boldly for it, wait for the next steps to take, take them, then expect the blessing. It’s as simple as that. And yes, I am sure : ) Have a wonderful day!

5 Words You Wouldn’t Want To Hear

There are certain words and phrases we don’t like to hear for various reasons. Some hurt our feelings. Some make us angry. Some remind us of negative events from the past.

After listening to a message the other day, I was reminded of five words that make me and many others feel guilty, and they provide that woulda, coulda, shoulda regretful feeling. Those words are…”If You Would Have Asked…..

Have you ever heard someone say that to you? I would think you probably have. Those are difficult words. After going through a difficult time or a situation in which you failed, knowing that you could have received someone’s help simply by asking, you can hit yourself over the head and think about what could have been. I can think of several situations in my life where this happened to me.

In addtion to the people around us, we also have a God above who is always willing to help you when you need it. The problem is, many people rarely ask Him for help. The question is, why not? In Matthew 7 He clearly says, “ask and it will given to you”. In John 14 he says, “ask inything in the name of Jesus and I will give it to you”. There are others as well. He DEFINITELY WANTS to provide great things for you. However, in many cases, He is waiting for you to ask. It’s all you have to do sometimes.

There are cases in my own life where I feel like God was telling me…”if you would have asked, I would have done it for you”. He could say far worse things to me. Yet those words and the corresponding feeling of regret hurt the most. To know that it is so simple to ask, and by asking I could have succeeded or received what I was striving for hits me the hardest. After all, the Bible also says in James, “you have not because you ask not”.

A way to change the feeling of regret is to make sure you never hear those words again. If you have tried on your own and you know someone would be willing to help, don’t hesitate to ask. More importantly, always ask your Creator who is ALWAYS willing to help. Besides avoiding the feeling of regret for not asking, you will experience the joy of reaching your goal and succeeding in all areas of your life. At least those that you seek His help in.

Please don’t ever cause someone to say that they were available to help and you let the opportunity slip by. Instead, put yourself in a position where you can thank others and God for the assistance they provide, and reap the benefits of it. There are no regrets there. Enjoy the blessings : )