The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Understanding How to Pray Effectually!

27 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 June 2026   1 John 5:14.

1 John 5:14.        And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

Oh friends, what a beautiful sunshiny summer’s day this lazy-day Saturday is turning out to be! And although the ole fella did laze around some in the bed earlier on, he’s still up relatively early, and is catching a much earlier bus than usual. (smile) So before we enshrine the laziness in the day, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth!

As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And I can’t help reiterating that if our prayer was sincere and heartfelt, that soon, we’d be experiencing a level of peace and calm that we did not previously have, because our wonderful God just LOVES to answers our prayers that deal with intimacy towards Him. For as John so wisely says in his first epistle:

‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:13-15)

Yes mih people, we have so much confidence in the promises of our God, that if we ask anything that’s in His will, then we know that He hears our plea and grants our petition, because that’s His promise. As the scholars add: ‘Assurance of salvation (vs. 13) leads to confidence in petition. Effectual prayer is according to his will.’

And talking about effective prayer, here is possibly one of the most effective in all the Bible, and is most assuredly one that we can base prayer for ourselves and others on. It come from Bruh Paul’s opening remarks to the church at Colossae. Let’s read together: ‘Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith In Jesus Christ, and of the LOVE which ye have to all saints,

For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you (on your behalf) a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your LOVE in the spirit (an affection for others). For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father which made us meet (qualified us) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son (the Son of His LOVE): In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ (Col. 1:1-14)

Wow! That was a whole sermon there from Bruh Paul, interspersed with words of fitting prayer for all and sundry. (smile) So let’s see what we can gain from it nuh. To begin with, Bruh Paul apparently did not know the Colossians personally, and it was his fellow servant in Christ, Epaphras, who began the church in the small town of Colossae, while Bruh Paul was in Ephesus attending to the larger church there. However, he was very pleased to hear that they had found Christ and were being faithful to the truth of the gospel preached to them, which gospel was also bringing forth fruit in them, which it ought to, if anyone faithfully believes.

As the scholars say, ‘the gospel produces godly character and noble conduct in its converts.’ Now that’s something many of us ought to look at in our own lives. Do we show forth a sincere godly character and noble conduct, thus bringing forth worthwhile fruit on behalf of Christ? Many of us Christians don’t. And we need to know how very important those aspects of our lives are, for though we might preach the word, it’s our personal behaviour by which we’re mostly judged; to see if it aligns with what we preach. And unfortunately, many of us are like the hypocrite Pharisees; we talk the word but don’t practice it.

Anyway, Bruh Paul was glad to hear that they were progressing faithfully in their walk with Christ, and continually prayed that they might know God’s will for their lives ‘in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.’ And that, according to the scholars, is ‘an accurate perception into the true nature of all things, and the skillful application of this wisdom in practical situations.’

Again, Bruh Paul desires that they walk worthy of the Lord, bringing forth good fruit in all their endeavours, being productive in Christian service, continually coming to know the Lord better, while becoming spiritually stronger and stronger, and being strong and steadfast, persevering in their trials and tribulations, as well as longsuffering; bearing with the offences of others, but nonetheless still giving thanks and praise to God despite their troubles.

Now, that’s a simple rendition of what our Christian lives ought to be about, and therefore our prayers should be based on those basics, both for ourselves and others, so that we can walk worthy of our wonderful God and Saviour Jesus Christ. And I pray that we’d all review our faith walk in Christ and pray that it will become better. This lazy-day Saturday, the last in June, is ideal for doing that! (smile) Much LOVE!

…too many Christians are plagued by…the vast difference between their talk and their walk…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 November 2017 1 Corinthians 1:4.

23 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Corinthians 1:4.   I thank my God always on your behalf (concerning you) for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.

Well another year has come around, and it’s Thanksgiving time in the U. S. once again! I’d like to wish them a most Happy Thanksgiving Day, probably their most widely celebrated holiday. But in doing so, I would also like us to remember that we should not just give thanks on a single man-declared day, but EVERY DAY; EVERY DAY that the Lord allows us to draw breath on His gracious earth. 

And though the once great nation is now in sad decline and turmoil because of their ungodliness, their overwhelming desire to purge God from their society, and instead form a great attachment to sin, there are still lots of things to be truly thankful for, and no reason why the wallowing ship cannot be successfully righted with the right leadership and the strong and sincere backing of its still numerous godly citizens. 

Remember, as Cousin Sol so rightly warns us: ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach (shame, disgrace) to any people.’ (Prov.14:34)  And that’s no lie! Therefore the Christians need to step up to the plate and fight a good fight. And that’s not only required in the U.S. but ALL OVER THE WORLD! 

Friends, if we want Christianity to not only exist, but to flourish, we who call ourselves the body of Christ, desperately need to improve our act. The evil side seems to be winning because of their greater effort, while we, the supposedly good side either rest on our laurels or are afraid to get up and perform the necessary actions that are required of us. 

And yuh know my fellow believers, it’s not that we need any great evangelical meetings, revivals and all that, although those are useful, the most important thing that we can do is simply start living like the Christians we claim to be, by showing sincere LOVE and kindness to other believers, as well as the unbelievers. The only way that the unbelievers will ever come to Christ is if they see us living the kind of life we talk so much about. 

But the sad fact is that we do more talking than walking. Just imagine nuh, if all Christians rose up and truly began living the way Christ desires us to, what a monumental impact we’d have on this sinful old world! Glory be mih people! Heaven would ring with exceptional joy! There would be such dancing and singing like heaven has never seen before! 

But it all depends on US, my brethren. If WE don’t get up and begin living right and fighting and standing steadfast and strong, the sadness right now in heaven will continue and possibly get worse. That brings us to our Bit, which shows how Bruh Paul prayed and thanked God for the welfare and fellowship of the believers in Corinth. 

Oh precious people of God, this morning I believe that we all need to consider these wonderful, prayerful and thankful words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians and let them resonate in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls as we go about improving our Christian image. 

‘Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf (concerning you) for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. 

So that ye come behind (short) in no gift; waiting for the coming (revelation) of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:3-9) 

Ah friends, what a powerful and all-encompassing prayer! And I believe we badly need it today. Many of us desperately need God’s peace and grace as we struggle through unfortunate circumstances in our lives. We also need to be enriched by His word and our knowledge of it, so that we can perform our God-given tasks, using the various gifts that the Lord has so generously granted to each of us. 

All the while remaining in fellowship with Christ and with each other. That’s when and where we are strong my brethren. Otherwise the enemy will just divide and conquer us, like they are currently doing. Let’s remember too that our wonderful God is ever-faithful, and if He has called us to His body, then He WILL provide all that we need to do His work, until His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ returns to take over His kingdom. 

So please, I implore us to be strong and steadfast in Christ and with each other, so that the unbeliever can see what true Christianity is really all about and thus acquire that great desire to come to Jesus. Wow! What a time that will be! Now let’s be thankful for all the wonderful gifts the Lord has showered upon us, as we declare with loud voice and true sincerity our Thursday Blessings. 

All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

And now, as Jesus desires of us, let’s go out and share those blessings with others in His holy name. Much LOVE!

…rejoice…and give thanks…ALWAYS…in EVERY circumstance…that’s God’s will…