Timely Ways to Pray for the USA

With all that’s going on in America this year, have you ever felt discouraged about the state of our nation? I know that Mary and I have. In the late spring, and into the summer, we were feeling stressed. Truth be told, we’d felt like that for a few months. We both had a lot of changes going on in our lives, even without Covid-19, the election, and the chaos in our cities.

Called to Hope

However, as the summer progressed, God was drawing us back to the basics, and one of the things that meant was back to our Only By Prayer website. We did a major revamp of the site and went into a planning frenzy. As we sought Him for what that looked like, God reminded us that Jesus calls us to be people of hope and to faint not. One powerful tool that we always have when we need to fight the enemy and his schemes is prayer. Rather than despairing of ever seeing things change for the better, God reminded us to be a catalyst of change for the better.



Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The lord is my portion,’ says my soul. ‘Therefore I hope in Him.’

Lamentations 3: 22-24 NKJ

Pray for the USA

Patiently, He impressed upon us the importance to stop moping and to start praying for the USA more and to mobilize others to pray too. With that said, we’d like to give you an update on what’s in the works here at Only By Prayer so you can join us if you’d like. 

  1. Facebook prayer group. We revamped a Facebook group we started four years ago and renamed it Pray for the USA. We then launched an event called 5 Days to Fast and Pray for our Nation in August. To our surprise, as of October 2020, God has brought over 800 people to the group to pray. Thank you, Lord! We’d love to have you join us as well. It’s a non-partisan group, and we do not allow any political arguments on the page — just praying.
  2. October Event. We are ramping up for our next event on Pray for the USA: 5 Days to Pray for the Election. This is another virtual prayer event held on October 28, October 29, October 30, November 2, and November 3. We are adding 24-Hour Prayer to this event in addition to our daily prayer topics. Be sure to check out the details. 
  3. Pray for the USA Prayer book! As we were organizing the prayer group, we realized how hard it can be sometimes to pray specifically about issues that are happening in our country. Mary felt God leading us to write a 31-day book of prayers targeted to culturally relevant issues of our day. Again the Lord came through. We recently finished this short book called Pray for the USA, and it’s now available for sale on Amazon. You don’t have to have an actual Kindle tablet to read it. You can download the Kindle app for your phone or computer and read it that way. We think you’ll find it helpful to pray through the relevant issues of our day. It only takes about two minutes or so to pray each prayer. If you happen to be a member of Kindle unlimited, you can actually read Pray for the USA for free. If you do purchase it/read it, we’d love if you’d leave us a review on Amazon.
  4. ThanksLiving event. In November we are hosting our 12 Days to ThanksLiving event. It will run from Friday, November 13, to Tuesday, November 24. It will be held entirely on our website and is completely free. Details to follow soon.
  5. Advent devotion. In late November through December, we will be leading a group through our Advent devotional (also published on Kindle) called Advent-urous: Seeking Jesus in the Season of Advent . This starts on Sunday, November 29 and runs through December 24, with a bonus week after Christmas. 
  6. 3 Weeks to a Healthier You. In the works for January 11-29 is a new venture we are starting called 3 Weeks to a Healthier You, Body, Soul, and Spirit. More information to follow on this, but we are excited because the body segment will include an exercise program developed just for our group by certified fitness trainer Sarah Lewis. Sarah is also available for online training in these Covid times if you’e interested.

Join Us

Finally, we thank you for your support. We hope you join us for Pray for the USA and however many of the other events you wish. We’re excited for the upcoming months and how God is working in each of our lives during these difficult times. We pray He is encouraging you and your families too. Let us know if you have any questions in the comment section below. May God bless you!

Our latest book on Amazon called Pray for the USA
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12 Days of ThanksLiving, Day 11: Boldness

Day 11: Boldness

“But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.” 1 Thessalonians 2:2
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Boldness  [bohld] adjective

.1. not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring: a bold hero.

2. not hesitating to break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent:
3. necessitating courage and daring; challenging: a bold adventure.
I am often confused as to why people associate Christianity with weakness and timidity. The International Society for Human Rights estimates 7,000 to 8,000 Christians are martyred each year.  It takes great boldness to swim against the tide of culture and be what God has created us to be — born-again believers. This ThanksLiving let us remember that God did not save us then leave us to fend for ourselves in a world that is not our home. He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, sound mind, and love. Because of the gift of His  power, we may live with great boldness, despising persecution and oppression. Read our focus verse for today again. What is the result of suffering? Boldness.
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This ThanksLiving, let’s give thanks  to God for His gift of boldness.

Boldness with Our Gifts: Dearest Father, we thank You for the blessing of boldness. Gifts are meant to be used; not relegated to a shelf  to collect dust. Help us to claim Your gift  as our own, and boldly use it to make disciples, edify other believers, and bring You great glory. Give us  discernment to know when You’re calling us to boldly leap by faith and witness for the Gospel.

Boldness with our Words: Dear Lord, thank You for entrusting us with the Gospel. Help us to faithfully fulfill this amazing privilege. We do not have to worry about what to say because You have given us the words in Your Word. We may boldly proclaim the truth, sowing seeds of salvation in every relationship, situation, and experience we encounter. Help us to boldly speak and trust You for the outcome. Thank You we don’t have to feel bold to be bold.In Jesus’ name. Amen.

More Boldness

Worship with Abandon a blog post by Jane VanOsdol

Comment

Please leave a comment below in the Comment section on what God teaches you today about boldness as we journey through ThanksLiving.

Bold. Dictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sacrifice (accessed: November 15, 2014).

“1 Thessalonians 2 (New King James Version).” Blue Letter Bible. Sowing Circle. Web. 22 Nov, 2014. <http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=111&p=0&rl=0&t=NKJV>.



12 Days of ThanksLiving, Day 3: Sacrifice

ThansksLiving SacrificeDay 3: Sacrifice

ThanksLiving: living a thankful life

 “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12

sacrifice: [sak-ruh-fahys]noun; verb

  1. the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.
  2. a surrender of something of value as a means of gaining something more desirable or of preventing some evil
  3. (verb) to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.
  4. (verb) to make a sacrifice or offering of.

Please carefully read the definitions above and highlight the sections that mean the most to you.

Sacrifice in the Year of 2020

In this year of 2020, we have seen a demonstration of sacrifice lived out right before us on the part of our health care workers as they have tenderly cared for our Covid patients. Many doctors and nurses have contracted the disease themselves, and sadly, some have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.

Sacrifice for Sin

The first sacrifice for sin was accomplished by God in the Garden of Eden. The last sacrifice for sin was confirmed by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The road to the cross was paved with sacrifice. Most of the definitions above speak of the giving of One for the sake of another. God gave Jesus, His Son in sacrifice for us (for you , for me) not only because of our great need, but because of His great love.

In this season of ThanksLiving, let’s give thanks to God for those who sacrificed to give us life.

For Jesus: Thank you, God, for giving Jesus as sacrifice for our sin. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we now live an abundant life.

For Caregivers: Thank  you, Father, for the sacrifice of our caregivers; for their struggle to feed, clothe, love and care for us, often at the expense of their own needs and comfort.

For First Responders: Thank You for those You’ve set in place who sacrifice their comfort and safety to cover us with their protection and service. Give them your strength and courage to go forth in the work You have given them; the defense and care of those in need.

For Health Care Workers: Thank you, Father, for the tireless service and ministry of health care workers,  who often risk their own health for the healing of others.

For Teachers: Father in heaven, thank you for teachers who are often underpaid and overworked. Many teachers give from their own resources to supply their classrooms, and provide food and clothing for their  students. Give teachers rest and peace this ThanksLiving season.

More Sacrifice

Please click on a link for more information on sacrifice.

Serving Others an article by Joyce Meyer Ministries

A Servant’s Heart a short Bible study by Mary Kane

Sacrifice  a blog post by Jane VanOsdol

 

Comment

Please leave a comment below on what God teaches you today about sacrifice in the Comment section.

sacrifice. Dictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sacrifice (accessed: November 15, 2014).

all rights reserved. copyright 2017



12 Days of ThanksLiving, Day 1: Light

Day 1: Light

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:5

 light1 [lahyt] noun 

1. the medium of illumination that makes sight possible
2. mental understanding or spiritual insight
3. the radiance or illumination from a particular source:
4. a person who is an outstanding leader, celebrity, or example; luminary:
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Let there be light. God’s first act of creation was to create light. This makes sense as God is the Father of Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Despite our modern age and technologically advanced society, an estimated 1.5 billion people in the world today live without electric light. When was the last time we entered into the mindset of ThanksLiving for the light we easily access with the flip of a switch?
Light helps us see where we are walking, avoid danger, create, work, play, and read. Without light there would be no life. How can we be so careless of something  so essential? We are never more thankful for something than when we’ve had to do without it for a while. Remember the last power outage at your house? This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks to the Father of Lights.
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 Pray for light

  1.  Do you have any dark areas in your life? Since darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, find a Bible verse that applies to a current area of challenge or temptation  and pray the light of God’s Word into your trial.
  2. Pray for God’s light to shine on the next step for your life, and the lives of your loved ones.
  3. Pray for the lost of the world to accept the Light of the World.

More Light

Do you want to go a little deeper in your study of light? Click on the link below.

Walking in Love, Light, and Wisdom

Comment

Please leave a comment below on what God teaches you today about light in the Comment section. We’d love to here from you!

light. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/light (accessed: November 12, 2014).

all rights reserved. copyright2017.