Category: Uncategorized

We all want to know the secret to powerful prayer. What really is the best kind of prayer the best answer I know for that question is…the one that is needed at the moment. God has given us the keys to the kingdom and has shown us how we can pray to change circumstances on the earth. It is important that we know that prayer is our responsibility, and at the same time, it is a privilege. The God of the universe wants us to communicate meaningfully with us. How amazing. Living a life with God at the center makes prayer as natural as breathing. A need arises, talk to God. Something praiseworthy happens, thank God. It isn’t the last resort, it is what we do first. We abide in Him, and we will bear much fruit. Our prayer life will be fruitful when His Words abide in us.

As we conclude this week talking about this inexhaustible topic of prayer, I want to encourage you more than ever, line your prayers up with the Word of God. Know what God says on a topic and pray according to the will of God. Pray with all the different kinds of prayer. Be specific when you pray, and expect things to change. Prayer changes things, but it also changes people. Choosing to be a person of prayer will change you. Let’s pray effectively, to accomplish what God wants to have done on the earth!
II Tim 1:6 tells us to fan the flame and stir ourselves up! Hold fast and follow the pattern of wholesome and sound teaching. Guard and Keep the precious and excellent truth which has been entrusted to you to be an effective prayer. Make a commitment today to make prayer more of a priority in your life!

It is easy to be distracted, and lose focus. God wants us to be attentive and listen. We are to listen and be familiar with His voice. You get to know someone’s voice by being around them, and listening. It says in John 10:4,5 that I know His voice, I won’t follow the voice of a stranger. Listening is more than hearing with your natural ears. The Bible tells us over and over, he/she that hath an ear, let Him hear. Mark 7:16 If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend by hearing is how it is stated in the Amplified Bible. God knows how to speak to you! He spoke through a donkey in Num 22, so surely He can handle speaking to and through you! Be attentive, and pay attention! He’ll bring the Word to your remembrance – John 14:26. The important part of remembering it is having it in your heart to begin with. That is why we are to hide His Word in our hearts. Get the Word in! Jesus will take what is God’s and reveal it to you! John 16:14-15. If we’ll be teachable and attentive to His Words, He will teach us if we will listen! I John 2:27. It is proof that we are God’s sons and daughters when we are led by His Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Rom 8:14
Pay attention to God in your prayer life by stopping, looking and listening. He needs our spirit to be quiet and concentrating on Him, and our ears and eyes attentive to what He wants us to see and hear. If we want our prayer to be effective, we must stay vitally connected to the vine, and whatever you ask will be yours. John 15:5-7 What a promise!

I don’t want to miss anything that God has for me! I want my eyes wide open. Today we’re going to talk about how important it is for us to be watchful, or to look and see what God is doing. In John 5:19-20,30, Jesus said that He did what He saw His father do. God discloses, or shows Jesus everything that God Himself does. He isn’t hiding from us! He wants us to see, so keep your eyes open. There are clues for you to find, just by having your eyes open.

The Holy Spirit wants to lead and guide us and will lead and guide us to the truth if we are willing to stop, look and listen. (John 16:12-13) God can impress images on your heart – pray those things that He shows you. He can put a word in your heart and give you insight that you wouldn’t know by your natural mind. During a time of prayer today, I was impressed to call a friend of mine who today needed God’s intervention. I wouldn’t have known that other than by the Spirit of God.

It is important that we don’t try to make something happen or try to impress others with how spiritual we are. It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus! Relax and let the Spirit of God do His work in you! The gifts of the spirit and the leading of the Holy Spirit are for us today as it says in I Cor 12. They are given to believers. The Spirit divides them to every person as he wills or desires. Be alert and have a heart of expectation – and be ready with your eyes open! Be a watcher! Every time I hear or sing the song, Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord, I remember the scriptures that God wants to show us great and mighty things. I want my eyes open! Let’s pray effectively and see God do great things on the earth.

One of the best ways to pray is to be Spirit led while praying. Instead of just following a list, or going through a set pattern, it is good to stop, look and listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him direct your prayers. Today we’re going to look at the importance of stopping, taking time and just giving ourselves a moment to be still in God’s presence. When we quiet our heart, we can be prepared to hear effectively. If we want our strength renewed, the Bible says in Is 40:31 for us to wait on God and we won’t be weary and we won’t faint! Is 30:15-18 – says that in quietness and confidence we will find our strength, and there is a blessing for all who earnestly wait for Him. Is 64:4 says that eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard what God has prepared for those who wait on God. Is 49:23 says we will not be ashamed when we wait on God. Busyness and activity can keep us from hearing from God. We can look at Mary and Martha and see a visible example of this. Martha’s timing was off. She was busy when she should have been still. It was time to lay aside busyness and concentrate on what was most important at the moment. Don’t miss your visitation with God because of busyness! A friend of mine say this, busyness isn’t of the devil, it is the devil. Don’t let the enemy or activity steal your time with God. Two final scriptures today are found in Ps 37:7 where it says to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. And probably one of my favorites when it comes to stopping to listen is found in Ps 46:10 where we are told to be still. God wants us to know that He is God. He sees the big picture, He knows all the details, and we can rest in Him. How encouraging is that!

Have you ever noticed how many different kinds of prayer are listed in the Bible? With this week’s emphasis on prayer, I’m going to give you a quick overview of the top 8 kinds of prayer.

1) Casting Your Cares Prayer: Don’t Worry, be Happy! I Peter 5:7 Don’t worry about your life Matt 6:25-34. Rom 4:21 God is able to keep His Word and do what He promised. It’s not refusing to think about them, it is giving them to God, and then replacing them with faith in God’s Word. They key is cast and leave in God’s care!

2) Consecration – Choosing God’s will over my own – Jesus exemplified this in the Garden, Paul ran with endurance the course before him, choosing God’s will over his own Gal 2:20 .

3) United Prayer – Lifting up your voice to God in one accord – Acts 4:24 Dramatic changes in a church, in people groups, and countries, with the result of an open heaven where there is no opposition in the spirit realm.

4) The Prayer of Praise, Worship and Thanksgiving – Heb 13:15 Power is released as we worship God and God deserves our worship! He is worthy! It is a great way to be plugged into power. Worship is the language of faith- you believe, you pray, you worship, you receive. Paul and Silas sang praises and praised the power down! –Doors are opened, and bands are loosed in worship.

5) The Prayer of Faith – Mark 11:22-24 There is a praying part, and a saying part. Get God’s Word on it (know what you believe), then begin by asking the Father in Jesus Name, speak directly to the Father. Thanksgiving follows, because you believe you receive as you pray.

6) The Prayer of Agreement – Matt 18:19-20 When two or three agree there is a symphony created with our prayers – Every pray-er must be following the same conductor. Ecc 4:9-12 A three fold cord is not easily broken. Power is multiplied

7) The Prayer of Supplication – heartfelt fervency – earnest, sincere, desperation for God to move. Phil 4:6, by prayer and supplication, not a casual request, a great desire. Supplication is asking fervently for what you earnestly desire.

8) The Prayer of Intercession – Ez 22:30 Someone to stand in the gap, loving someone else enough to interecede until they get what they need.

Each prayer has it’s place and it is good for us to know which prayer to pray in each circumstance. How encouraging to know that effectual, fervent prayer produces great results.

How on earth did each of your kids turn out to be so very different from one another? It may have to do with where they sit in the family tree. Birth order can influence your
kid’s personality and behavior more than we know. We have found that a great tool for raising Godly kids is in understanding our kid’s birth order. Dr. Kevin Leman and other respected psychologists have written extensively on this subject, and there are amazing truths which can help parents better understand children. The amount of children in a family, if there are step siblings involved, or half siblings, or if kids are an only child all can change things up a bit, but the basic principles often hold true. Another variable is how many years there are between children in the birth order. The oldest generally are the take charge leader type. They are not always outspoken about it, but they often are strong willed and determined and definitely conscientious. Middle kids are usually peacemakers and mediators. They tend more often to be people pleasers. Youngest children very often think the world revolves around them, and often become the entertainer, or the life of the party. These great insights in Dr. Leman’s books, and also great charts available on the internet to see how you can better understand your kids when it comes to birth order. It is well worth your time to do the research. Because we want to be the best parents we can be, use all of the resources you have available to stretch and grow. As parents we don’t get a dress rehearsal, this is the real thing. Let’s do our best!

I use the acronym QWARP to remind me of each of the 5 different love languages Gary Chapman introduced in his book, The Five Love Languages, and the many spinoffs for couples, for kids, etc. Q stands for Quality Time. Kids who have quality time as their love languages just enjoy being with you, with eye to eye contact. W stands for words of affirmation, and kids with this love language need to hear you say that you love them and approve of them. They love cards with uplifting words. A stands for acts of service, and kids with this love language, enjoy you doing projects together, and will often be under your feet while you are working. R stands for receiving of gifts. These kids love getting presents, and a prize box for rewards will really be a hit, but they also love giving gifts, and take pride in selecting special gifts. P stands for physical touch. These are the touchy feely kids who will be found sitting on your lap, playing with your hair and holding your hand. When you know what your child’s love language is, you will better understand why they do what they do, and even which discipline works best for each child. So to parents listening, you can be a better parent as you learn about your children’s love languages. It is an exceptional tool that has been so beneficial for us as parents, I hope it encourages you to be a better parent.

Intro:
I believe that as parents we are shaping the next generation and raising kids is a privilege and a reward from the Lord. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. I had the wonderful opportunity to do a workshop on parenting soon after we adopted our son Carson who was 2 ½ years old. It was called Practical Parenting – Mission Possible. I hope the thoughts from that workshop will empower you to be a better parent. Here is your dailyeword.

Just like most things, being a good parent involves natural things as well as spiritual things. We’ll talk about the natural side of parenting first. These principles are from the best book of all, the Bible, and 3 others great books by really exceptional Christian authors. Here are these 4 natural things that are a great resource when it comes to parenting God’s way. They are areas of understanding that have made parenting much easier.
1) Understanding motivational gifts (from Rom 12: 6-9),
2) Understanding personality type – lion, beaver, otter and golden retriever (from a book by Gary Smalley and John Trent),
3) Understanding Love Languages (from a book by Gary Chapman), and
4) Understanding birth order (from a book by Kevin Leman).
These natural tools have helped my husband and I tremendously in understanding our kids temperaments, characteristics and individual mannerisms. As Christian parents, that’s what we strive for….producing kids to change the world. Understanding personality types is a key to understanding your child– There are many personality type tests, but the one I like the best is the one with the lion, the beaver, the otter, and the golden retriever, developed by Gary Smalley and John Trent. The Lion is often a first born, who is the strong leader type. They get things done, have vision for the future, and can tend to be pushy if they get out of balance. The beaver is the worker bee, who see a need and gets it done. The otter is the life of the party. They are the social ones, who love having lots of people around them. The golden retriever is the loyal faithful friend, who is always there when you need them. Who would think that 4 personality types would pretty much sum up everyone you know. I think knowing this can make you a better parent.

There are some great advantages we receive from being a part of the family of God….God’s blessing, abundant life, and favor! Today we’re going to talk about what we get to give since we are part of God’s family. Don’t get scared, this won’t be painful at all. We have the same spirit on the inside of us who is the biggest giver of all, so none of us should have any issue with giving….it should be as natural to us as breathing. If it all belongs to Him anyway, giving some of it away shouldn’t hurt at all! I want to encourage you to develop a giving spirit. We want to look like and act like our Father, so one thing we can start doing is giving more! The tithe that we give to our local church demonstrates obedience. We move a decimal over, and tada…we have one tenth. That’s easy math. It is the size of the offering that demonstrates our generosity. The tithe is set, but offering is optional. We can give a spoonful and get a spoonful back, or give a dump truck load, and get a dump truck load back….it’s our choice. One thing that is important is that we lead with your seed. We lead our families with them watching what we do…..if we want generous children, we demonstrate generosity in front of them. The Bible tells us to cast your bread on the water – it will come back with every wave. If you’ve tried that with bread, you may have gotten soggy bread back! That’s not what it means! What it means is that if we give of what we have, it will come back to us, over and over again. Give and it shall be given unto you! I’m believing for more seed to sow this year. Each year I want to give more than the last. Wouldn’t you like to give more this year than you ever have before? I want to encourage you to increase – so God can increase back to you! ☺

If you were anything like I was as a kid, you probably couldn’t wait to drive. When ever I could, I would just go sit in the drivers seat of any car and pretend to drive, until the day at 15 years and 9 months old, I got my learners permit. Boy was I happy! My brother who is older and wiser (3 years to be exact) was determined I wouldn’t drive like a girl. He taught me all the important things to know, and to this day, he is a great driver, and so am I!!!! I really do like to drive….one of my uncles who drove behind me on my recent trip to Switzerland calls me Doretti Andretti, after the famous race car driver. Driving in America is fun, driving in Europe is really FUN! Cars and driving can give us a great lesson for life. If we want to go anywhere in a car, you have to have a driver’s license. Let’s pretend that is salvation. Salvation is the key that starts your car. You can turn the car on and just sit there in park and go nowhere. But that is no fun. You can put it in reverse, but you have to go slowly, and very cautiously. You can leave it in neutral and just rev the engine, but you are not going anywhere. To go somewhere we have to take off the parking brake put it in Drive. When you are first learning, you go very slowly, taking it very easy and being very cautious. There are times in life, when we have to do that. We don’t want to jump the gun, and get into a mess, or a wreck in life. We should always watch for road signs and places where danger might be lurking. There are times when the road is wide open and you can go all the way up to the speed limit. But when the road gets twisty and turny, you had better slow down. What does that mean for us? Life is like a ride in the car, we have to get in the car, turn it on, and then get in drive if we want to go anywhere. For the Christian, if we want to do anything for God, we need to quit sitting around, and start moving. God has great things for you in your life, and I believe that you will fulfill your purpose and destiny in life, because you’ll know how to drive wisely- putting your pedal to the metal…..Just kidding! Really, please don’t do that, just make sure your rear is in gear!