Ways to pray! Thank you Carmen!

Sent in by Carmen-- thank you!

As Christians, prayer is very important to us, but I think sometimes we don't know how to pray. What everyone thinks of when they hear the word "prayer" is kneeling or just sitting and talking to God. This type of prayer is definately good and tons of people do it, but sometimes it can feel a bit intimidating. Sometimes we don't know what to say or we feel God isn't actually listening (even though, of course, He always is). If you don't like whispering to God, it's okay. There are other ways to pray. Write down your prayers or write a letter to God. Tell Him everything, He definately wants to know even when no one else does. Recently, there have been people in my life who have needed prayers. My family had been praying and praying, but it started to get a bit redundant. I wanted a new way to pray for them, so this is what I did. In this empty journal I have, I wrote this: "Lord, as I'm decorating these names, let every second I spend be an hour You spend with them." Then I wrote down each person I was praying for and left some space and drew designs around each one. The whole time I was basically doodling around a certain name,
I was thinking about the person and telling God in my mind to just fill that person up and be with them. There were three people in particular I was praying for. One with cancer, one who had just had a heart-attack, and one who had had a mysterious headache for two straight years. Guess what? God listened. Within a few days, the person with cancer got a cat scan and discovered the tumor was only one-fourth as big as it had been for the past year. The new treatment worked and we will be able to celebrate another birthday with him. The person with the heart-attack began to recover and had no more attacks. The mysterious headache person finally found a doctor who knew what it was from and they have started treating it. Praying does work and God does listen. Never give up on God because He will definately never give up on you.

-Carmen

What are some of your favorite ways to talk to God?

Remember: God is in control!

Sometimes it's hard to remember that we have someone who knows how our life will go and has everything in order. We Christians know it's not our mom or dad with a calendar that tells us our schedule; we know that God has everything perfectly made for us! We are so blessed that our God is that amazing and loves us that much! And when things don't go right, He can fix it! And if we have sinned, His Son has saved us, and our hearts are pure! Lately, I've been struggling with what my future (mostly short term stuff) will be, but I pray to God and ask that Christ shows me the way. Everything is perfectly planned, and so I will not try and force anything in my life; God will put it in my life when it is the right time!
Prayer is so important when you are confused, and also talking to others is important is well. They can pray with you and give you wisdom as well. Prayer requests can be placed below, or if you'd rather keep it more private, you can ALWAYS email me! I am here to help others in Jesus's name!
Have a great rest of your week!

Love,
Kayla

Fulfilling your dream

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post about fulfilling your dreams and glorifying God through them. Today, I have the opportunity to audition for my favorite ballet (The Nutcracker), and I've been praying all week that I get in! It's been my dream to do this since I was about 3 and my mom took me to see it at the theatre I will (hopefully) be performing in! Full circle much? Anyways, I'm going to make sure if I get in, I will use this to glorify Christ! It will most likely be through lead-by-expamle: stretching while reading verses out of my Bible, praying before shows, etc. That way, I have a chance to show all these dancers who may not be saved a way to Jesus Christ! I feel this is my way to really have an impact! What's your lifelong dream, and how will you glorify Christ through it? Tell me in the comments, or email me a story at missionfaithblog@gmail.com.
Also, please pray for me as I go to auditions! I really want a part!

Through Christ,

Kayla

The Power of Prayer

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you've had a great start to the week!

Today I truly discovered the power of prayer. I took part in I am Second's phone prayer group today, and there were 3 other people who prayed this morning for about 30-40 minutes. We broke the Lord's prayer down and asked for specific things that Jesus tells us to pray for. I feel so open and free; God heard my prayers and broke chains. Jesus poured his grace over me again. Every time you pray, you become a new person-- free and beautiful. It doesn't matter if sometimes you fall short of God's glory, He knows that you won't be perfect. That is why He gave us His son to forgive those sins and be our link to our God. Like Jesus says, all you need to pray each day is the Lord's Prayer. Break it down, ask for what you need each day.

Matthew 6: 9-13 is the Lord's Prayer, and if you honor God (Matt. 6: 9), ask to show the word of God and Jesus Christ as it is in Heaven on Earth (doing missions, essentially) (Matt. 6: 10), to give us what we need to be sustained (Matt 6: 11), for forgiveness in ourselves and in others (Matt. 6: 12) and to deliver us from evil (to keep Satan out of our lives in whatever form he may come in) (Matt. 6: 13) during your prayer each day, the Lord will give it to you. It isn't a very hard format, and your prayers can change daily for you or anyone else you are praying for.

Prayer is, for me, one of the best ways to feel close to God and Christ. Our God does so much for us when we don't deserve it, but Christ has forgiven our sins so that we can walk with Him. Thank Jesus everyday for that! Christianity is really more a relationship than a religion. Prayer is how it becomes a relationship. I will pray for all of you so that you can see the beautiful relationship we have with Jesus if you haven't seen it already. If you have any prayer requests, you can post them below in the comments (and I'm very sorry if it takes a while for me to moderate them, I'm trying my best!), or you can email them to me (missionfaithblog@gmail.com), post them up on our Facebook fan page, or Tweet them to me (@Mission_Faith). Have a blessed day! Love you all!

This one's for you, girls!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD.

~*~ Never give the Devil a ride, he will just want to take over the driving. ~*~

Dear Woman of God:

Be still for a while and praise God for His favor, His grace, and His awesomeness. God is able to do the impossible and is always near. He loves you unconditionally. Please forward this to every woman you want God to bless. Let's all say this prayer during this hour.  Dear God: This is my friend whom I love very much and this is my prayer for her. Help her live her life to the fullest. Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations. Help her shine into the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs You the most, and let her know when she walks with You, she will always be safe. Amen

Thanks to Carmen for sending this in!

The Ten Commandments: Third Day

God gave me so much insight on this commandment today! I have a personal story behind it, and He is giving me the opportunity to share it!

The third commandment is to not swear in the Lord's name. This means NEVER to say God's name unless we are uplifting it. Also, never say Jesus Christ unless we are praising him like we should! Far too often we hear Their names used in vain. Another thing we should never do is swear! If we heard a person say foul words, is our first thought "Wow, that guy/girl must be a Christian! They are really uplifting God!" No! We think "What disgusting language!" If you ever find yourself wanting to swear or use God's name in a non-uplifting way, stop! Pray for strength to stop yourself and for forgiveness for using those words.

Now for my personal story: Before I was Christian, I used God's name in vain ALL THE TIME. I didn't realize how sacred His name is, and I didn't really care. I also swore frequently. I had a terrible, disgusting mouth. Once my friend and I started going to church and I really saw HOW GREAT GOD IS, I quit that habit INSTANTLY. I feel terrible for ever saying those awful things, but I know Jesus has given me a new, clean heart and that I'm forgiven. My family (who is not Christian) often says these words (in particular my brothers), and I have told them many many times how offensive it is to me and that I wish them to stop. Has it gotten better? A little. Persistence in reprimanding them and persistence in prayer will help people realize how sacred these names are and that fowl language is unnecessary.

Follow this blog, follow me on Twitter @souldancer1996

And please keep praying for my friends, their father's funeral is tomorrow. They will need a lot of strength. 

God bless this beautiful day!

Patience

I will be the first to admit I am not the world's most patient person. I am prideful (which is awful) and don't always see people might have a point when they're telling me something. For example, my mom. I love her to death and beyond! She's amazing! But we do butt heads when she tells me I need to work on my online math class. I don't really see the point of it, but she insists on me doing it. My goal here is not to rant about her, because as I pray for patience in this situation, God tells me I should remember the 5th Commandment: You will honor your mother and father.  And so I keep a level head and remember she only wants the best for me.
Praying for patience is a very humbling thing to do. God makes you see how prideful you are. We aren't perfect, and we never will be. My youth leader told us last night "Even the most righteous act you can do looks like filthy rags to Him. But Jesus Christ saves us and so we must live a good life and follow Jesus's lead."
It's a hard thing to accept: even our kindest, most perfect act are disgusting. And it is true, because there's always a flaw. But the power of prayer will help us be our best! And the best way to try and be the best Christian you can be is to have patience. Patience while praying, while living, while witnessing, or doing math homework (okay, that one might just be me, but you get the idea!)
Now I challenge you to pray for patience, to humble yourself, and to try and become the best Christian you can be!

~*~ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. --Romans 12:12 ~*~