Praise in Prayer

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you spend in prayer, just praising God? How often do you take the time, before praying about anything else, to praise and worship God,

the creator of the universe, the Saviour of your soul?

It is often thought that confession should come first as sin makes our prayers ineffective. Yes, sin does rob prayer of its power, but were it not for our great, merciful and loving God, our confession would mean very little.

When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus to teach them to pray,

the first thing he said was

“When ye pray, say,

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”

The Greek word for hallowed is hagiazo which means

“to revere or to sanctify”, “to be set apart”, “sacred, holy”.

So we are to praise God's name in our prayers

because He is sacred, holy, set apart.

His name is worthy. He is worthy.

The Lord Jesus was stressing to His disciples the importance of spending time

praising God and worshipping Him, before anything else.

When we spend time praising God, we take the focus off ourselves and place it on Him. In prayer, God is pleased when we first draw attention to Him, before drawing attention to ourselves.

Praising God at the beginning of our prayers

puts God in His rightful position right from the start.

When we praise God we declare

His sovereignty and we recognise

His awesome power and His

divine nature.

As one author so aptly puts it, “Here is one of the greatest values of praise; it decentralizes self . The worship and praise of God demands a shift of center from self to God. One cannot praise God without relinquishing occupation with self. Praise produces forgetfulness of self - and forgetfulness of self is health.”

When we take time to praise God first in our prayers,

we begin to see God for who He really is,

and it is to this all-powerful God that we will be

presenting our petitions. It changes our focus.

We read in the Bible how all creation sings God's praises.

I often think that if God's soulless creation sings His praises, then why is it that we, as humans and created beings, made in God's own image, the very ones He came down to this earth for die for, are so slow to praise?

Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

I find it amazing that not only the creatures on and under the earth praise God, but also the mountains and the hills and the trees!

In praising God in our prayers, we are setting aside

time to worship at Jesus' feet.

We are acknowledging that God is the giver of all things

and that He is worthy of honour.

“Praise is the vocal adoration of God.

Adoration is the act of rendering divine honour, esteem, and love.”

“Adoration is intense admiration culminating in reverence

and worship, together with the outward acts and

attitudes which accompany such reverence”

The Bible tells us that those who offer praise, glorify Him.

Psalms 50:23b Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:

We are told to praise God in many of the Psalms.

Psalms 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary:

praise him in the firmament of his power.

Psalms 150:2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Psalms 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

David knew something about trials and hardships

but he also knew a whole lot about praise and worship.

He knew exactly who deserved honour and who it was that

was his deliverer. He knew that God and God alone

was worthy of worship, for God is holy.

Psalms 99:3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.

Psalms 99:5 Exalt ye the LORD our God,

and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

Psalms 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at

his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

You don't have to read very far in the Bible to see the importance

of praising God. There are countless verses on the subject and I don't

believe it's an accident that they're there.

We know that God is holy and worthy of our worship,

but putting it into practice in our prayers is not always easy.

We get so caught up with wanting to make sure we

remember all the requests we have and the very

'important' petitions, that we forget to take time to praise God first.

Just take a look at your prayer list if you don't believe me.

I'm guilty of this too. How often do we actually, physically list

items of praise? I'm beginning to think it might be a good idea

to take the time to sit and write down a list of God's names that we read

in the Bible, to be a reminder of who He is and what to praise Him for.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,

The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

We should be continually praising Him for His name,

for His righteousness, for His creation, and for His great sacrifice

in giving His life for us.

Praising God is not just something we do when we sing

songs of worship on a Sunday morning.

It should be something we do on a daily basis,

in our prayers, as we go about our day,

as we talk to others.

Psalm 150:6

Let everything that hath breath

praise the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord.

The Gift of Today

What will you do with the gift of today?

The gift you hold in your hand?

Do you realise that every day is a gift from God? Every day, we make a choice as to how we will use our day. What we will fill our day with. How we will spend it. Did we just step over it while busy chasing around after our children? Did we step over it on our way to bettering our career? Did we step over it

while worrying over the future?

Today IS the future. What you do today has a great impact on your future. When we will fill our precious day with things of eternal value, it's like a bank up in Heaven receiving a deposit. Gaining interest.

Every day that we take for granted, is a day wasted.

We need God's wisdom each and every day to know how He would have us use our time. What does God want us to fill our day with? What is His plan for our day and how would He have our day ordered? God's ways are not our ways and it's good to remember that although we may have our day all planned out, God often has a different idea, a better idea, a 'bigger picture' idea that would have us totally change our busy schedule into

something that has eternal value.

I'm more guilty than anyone in not liking my little 'day plan' rearranged. But, I've found that when I let the Lord order my day, it turns out so much better than my pitiful little attempt at planning. If today is a gift from God,

shouldn't we let Him choose the gift?

In our pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, Dave and I have found that if we eat a hearty meal at the start of the day, we can go on the strength of that meal for hours. But, if we fill our bellies with 'fairy floss',

we are soon hungry and disappointed.

I see it as the same with our day. If we stop to fill our 'tank' in the morning, with God's Word and time spent with Him, we can go on that strength for hours, continually going back in our minds to what we learnt and read. We keep chewing it over throughout the day, gaining strength from His promises and wisdom from His Word. But, on the other hand, if we start our day by reading the news, or checking our emails first thing, we've started our day on fairy floss. Now, I LOVE fairy floss, but even I know that it doesn't sustain. No amount of 'fluff' is going to have the stickability

that the Word of God will have in your life.

So, as you start out your day, STOP and take time to listen to how God would have you use it. Remember that each and every day is a gift from God, that He has the right to take it away at any time. He is the giver of life.

Today is a gift from God. Let's use it for His glory.

In looking for the lyrics to a well known hymn

I came across this poem by C. T. Studd.

I think he sums it up very well.

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice;
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.


Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

        Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
         Only what’s done for Christ will last.
          And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
     If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN

Yes, Lauren is another year older which

makes Dave and I another year older too. 

Time really does fly. 

In going through some old files I came

across this poem.

So for all you parents out there,

let it be a reminder to you,

that childhood doesn't wait. ❤

Childhood Doesn't Wait

I was sitting on a bench
while in a nearby mall,
When I noticed a young mother
with two children who were small.

The youngest one was whining,
"Pick me up," I heard him beg
but the mother's face grew angry
as the child clung to her leg.

"Don't hang on to me," she shouted
as she pushed his hands away,
I wish I'd had the courage
to go up to her and say...

"The time will come too quickly
when those little arms that tug,
Won't ask for you to hold them
or won't freely give a hug.

"The day will sneak up subtly
just as it did with me,
When you can't recall the last time
that your child sat on your knee.

"Like those sacred, pre-dawn feedings
when we cherished time alone
Our babies grow and leave behind
those special times we've known.

"So when your child comes to you
with a book that you can share,
Or asks that you would tuck him in
and help him say his prayer...

"When he comes to sit and chat
or would like to take a walk,
Before you answer that you can't
`cause there's no time to talk.

"Remember what all parents learn
so many times too late,
That years go by too quickly
and that childhood doesn't wait.

"Take every opportunity,
if one should slip away
Reach hard to get it back again,
don't wait another day."

I watched that mother walk away
her children followed near,
I hope she'll pick them up
before her chances disappear...
Kathie Davis

SUPERMOON 

Well, the supermoon was pretty 

awesome to see the other night,

despite intermittent cloud cover.

I was able to stay up and watch it all

and attempt to take some photos. 

None of which really worked out 

without a long enough lens, a wireless 

remote, maybe a telescope, some image 

stabilization on my current lens,

an inept operator, etc etc. 

I know, excuses excuses

but it doesn't really matter. I had a lot

of fun watching it and marvelling once again

at God's creativeness and goodness

in allowing us to see His majestic power

through creation. 

Psalm 19:19

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psalm 148:1-5

Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:

praise him in the heights.

 Praise ye him, all his angels:

praise ye him, all his hosts.

 Praise ye him, sun and moon:

praise him, all ye stars of light.

 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,

and ye waters that be above the heavens.

 Let them praise the name of the Lord:

for he commanded, and they were created.

Emilee Turns 18 Today

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Black Forest Trifle Birthday Cake

Birthday cuddles for Auntie Em

Birthday Girl 

Strength Through Trials 

💕Happy Birthday Mummy Abbi💕

Storms and Blessings

Throughout these past few weeks,

the girls and I have been doing a big 

clean out and sort. This included going

through a lot of old files. 

As I sorted through the mounds of 

paperwork, articles, old receipts,

old birthday cards etc, 

I came across a LOT of good poems,

quotes, articles and writings from various 

authors, pastors, missionaries and 

Christian workers. 

Now I have a huge file that I want to

re read and post some of the best on the

blog (over time),  to hopefully be a blessing and encouragement

to someone out there that just might need 

what was written down long ago. 

I especially liked these writings on storms and blessings. 

I'll let them speak for themselves. 

If these are a blessing and a help to you,

please pass them on, or let me know

and I can email you the original.

(I have taken the liberty of using my 

own photos to add to the message)

God bless