Prayers for August 14 2014

God I have been feeling weary.

The day to day grind has not been yielding the results that I expected. So I feel disappointed with myself. That has led to less enthusiasm about plowing ahead.

If I had the time and money I would ask You to make a way for me to have a vacation. And I hope that will come later.  

What You can do for me soon is to grant me to take a refreshing pauses at one or more oasis. You can guide me to times, places and ways to recharge my spiritual batteries.

Also I ask You to help me plan and use each day wisely. Also may I have balance within each day and week so I do not burn out.

You know how to communicate with me. So I expect you to guide me to greener pastures.

THANKS

Prayers for August 13 2014

God Help Me Make a Big Difference

God I get weary of seeing the images on TV of death and destruction.

I no longer pay attention to the news stories and so I do not feel as depressed.

Guide my life so that I will be Your instrument to bring hope, help and healing.

Clear my pathway and bring me together with likeminded people.

Let us work in coordinated teams.

I cannot stop the bad in the world.

But I want to contribute generously to the good before my last day.

Prayers for August 12 2014

Thank You God for Literacy

Today God I thank You that I can read.

I have spent much time today both reading and writing.

The reading inspired and instructed me.

There would be no use to the writing if others could not read.

I am very fortunate to live in a country with such a high literacy rate.

I have been laboring today toward launching and leading an educational nonprofit.

One of our services will be to help children in developing countries to learn to read.

Reading is such a critical part of our modern life.

I feel honored to enroll many to work with me so the next generation will become readers.

Thanks again for putting that passion in me and fanning those flames lately.

Prayers for August 11 2014

Thank You Lord for Sight

THANK You Lord, for granting me my ability to see.

I am a visual kind of person.

I appreciate the sights and especially the colors every day.

I am grateful for those who have invested in landscaping.

I am grateful for women who dress in beautiful ways.

I am grateful for nature videos that let me see Your creation.

Prayers for August 9 2014

God there are times I feel slightly overwhelmed by how many people there are. I notice huge apartment complexes, sprawling suburban neighborhoods and high rise luxury condominiums. That is just what I see as I travel around this large city. I know there are thousands of other cities with far more people than I can imagine. Yet You know me personally and intimately. Yet You care about me. Yet You have heard and answered my prayers. WOW You are awesome God!

I used to live near a busy airport. I often saw passenger airplanes taking off and landing. Each one had hundreds of people in them. There were that many people coming from that city to this one or going from this city to that one. And later in the day hundreds of more will make the same journey. I see the hotels near the convention centers that must have lots of occupants every night. You are fully aware of all the details of each business trip, vacation and visit to family. Your mind is so vast that it staggers my understanding. And all this is based on my passing observations. Yet You are fully aware of each of my thoughts, feelings, intentions and more. WOW You are an awesome God!

God You know that I can get very depressed if I pay too much attention to the news. I can feel distressed to notice grown up acting so foolishly. There seems to be no end of how humans can harm one another with street crimes and wars. You gave us free will. You led us to create laws. You help law enforcement. But still there is violence, injuries and death. Lord I do not get it. I know You are a good God and You are powerful and You are love. But we sure make a mess of things. You have given us Your holy Word. Clever people have attempted to use Your Word to explain our mess. None of them have fully explained all the craziness. But in Your Word You did promise that after this life there will be a place of eternal rest. We will not have this spiritual darkness. We will be in a haven saturated by Your love and truth.  WOW You are an awesome God!

Prayers for August 8 2014

THANKS God for Practical Blessings

God today and right now I pause.

I genuinely THANK You for some very practical blessings in my life.

THANK You Lord for

Air conditioning

It has been very hot outside today. That is normal for this time of year in Dallas. But even after a short walk I broke out into a sweat. I was glad to get back inside and cool down. I was able to focus on my writing instead of the weather.

Flush toilets

God today I have been writing about those many millions in developing countries. Those in remote villages have never seen a flush toilet or even a latrine. Wow I am blessed to have such a device in my life all these decades.

Plenty of Water

What got me into seeking and finding ways to help those in developing countries was deep concern that they have enough water. Thank you Lord that I have access to plenty of good water.

Prayers for August 7 2014

God Help Me Manage Time Better

Lord help me to become a more effective steward of my time.

Guide me in setting wise priorities and smart goals.

May I minimize distractions daily.

May I focus on the most important projects.

May I give myself fully to complete the tasks.

Lead me to develop ways to better balance my life.

Help me to make my times of prayer and Bible study a top priority.

Prayers for August 6 2014

Lord God I THANK You for Your grace and mercy.

These recent weeks have been stressful.

You have made a way for my basic needs to be met.

You have sustained my health and strength.

I have enough restful sleep.

My digestion and elimination have been good despite the unusual kinds of foods.

You have improved my faith in Jesus Christ.

You have improved my prayer life.

THANKS

Prayers for August 5 2014

Thankful for Health Care Fields

This morning I overheard a man say he was going in for surgery today.

I did not know the man or the kind of surgery.

That reminded me of the whole field of surgery.

I considered that surgery is not possible without anesthesiology.

It is a little amazing that a patient can have minor or major surgery and not feel it.

There are those in the field of anesthesiology that are critical but do not get much recognition.

That led me to think of other areas of health care that I feel grateful for today.

I have had many dental challenges all my life.

I have had lots of fillings, braces, crowns and now dentures.

I am glad that my dentures fit and work so well.

I can eat foods I could not before these dentures.

The field of dentistry is amazing.

I wear reading glasses that are 3.0 magnification.

I had my eyes examined and got costly prescription glasses.

But they broke and I could not afford to replace them.

Instead I got some readers from the discount store for only 6 dollars.

They have been working great for a very long time.

I cannot read without these.

The whole field of eye care is amazing

Then I was thinking about the field of prosthetics.

Those who were injured can get an artificial replacement.

This includes feet, legs, arms, hands and more.

There are videos of wounded soldiers using them.

Also those that were in auto accidents or sports injuries use them.

This whole field is amazing.

Finally I thought about how while many have access to these others do not.

My heart hurts sometimes when I see videos of those in developing countries.

They do not have access to the most basic health care.

There are children dying daily of preventable diseases.

There are parents that cannot afford medicines for their children and for themselves.

I am grateful for those organizations that have been reaching out to help them for decades.

There are more than 7 billion people on our shared planet.

I was fortunately to have been born into the top 1 billion.

Those in the bottom 2 billion barely survive on less than 2 dollars a day.

I have been working hard on launching an educational nonprofit.

It will be used to help bridge that gap with awareness, links and educational modules. 

Prayers tor August 4 2014

Simplicity of the Gospel

God I thank You for the grace and simplicity of the gospel message.

You have revealed Your saving power to all kinds of people all over the globe.

They have become born again into the forever family of God.

I thank You for the hope of heaven our eternal resting place.

Thanks for the promise of the resurrection body.

Prayers for August 2 2014

Thanks for the Blessings

I take this time God to THANK You again.

Thanks for the many blessings You have been providing.

I could make a long list of spiritual blessings and I might do that later.

But today I thank You for these temporal blessings.

My health

A place to sleep that is clean and safe

A place to work during the day that has:

air conditioning

WIFI

a place to plug in my laptop

My laptop that keeps working great

The various online services I use each week

The Internet including all the many people and computers that make that happen

My cell phone

The safety and cleanness of the downtown district – it was not this way decades ago

The religious freedoms that the USA has

The Bible translated into my mother tongue

Easy access to flush toilets – that many millions around the world do not have

Many choices of food at the grocery store and when I eat out

Especially treats like: chocolate, premium ice cream, ripe fresh fruit, candy

Prayers for August 1 2014

God what follows are some Bible verses that I am not sure what they mean or how they apply. So I ask You for Your wisdom and insights about these matters.

God Your Word says that if a person loses their life for the gospel and Your sake they will find it. (Matt 10:39)

Your Word says we are in the world but we are not to be of the world. (John 15:19)

You said to seek first the kingdom of God and promised all these things will be added to us including food and clothes. Matt 6:33