Receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. James 1:21 (AMPC) God loves you and wants to empower you to overcome whatever you are facing. In this series on prayer, we’ve been discussing how powerful prayer is. However, you can’t only pray and hope that things magically work out. The truth is you can’t expect great results if you simply throw out a few prayers and then spend the rest of your days focusing on the negative. In addition to prayer, you need to change your focus. When you’re facing a problem, it can be hard not to focus only on it. But problems don’t need to consume you. According to James 1:21, you …

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT) In our society of reality TV stars and instant celebrities, it seems everyone wants a quick path to greatness. Our prayers are often tailored towards this goal. We ask for strength, courage and wisdom—not so we can do good things for God and for others—but so we can become great ourselves. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with big aspirations, but it can become a problem if it’s our primary focus. Matthew 19 tells a story about a rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to get eternal life (v. 16). This rich young …

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Luke 11:9 (NKJV) Do you ever struggle to pray because you don’t feel a connection? You need to know that even when you don’t sense God’s presence in your everyday life, he is always there. The signal is being sent, even when you don’t feel like you’re receiving it. Luke 11:9–10 reveals how to receive His signal: Ask. The truth is not complicated. If you want to experience more of God in your life, ask. If you want to hear what He’s saying to you as you read the Bible, ask. In Matthew 21:21, Jesus said, I tell you …

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT) Does it seem as though God’s answer is always “no” or “wait” when you pray? If so, you might have started to think that prayer is pointless. Maybe you even tried begging God for help in the past, but when you didn’t get the answer you were looking for, you stopped praying altogether. When it comes to prayer, the first thing you need to realize is that God is on your side. He isn’t trying to withhold good things …

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) A while ago I posted a survey on Facebook asking people what topic they would like to see highlighted in Devoted at the beginning of this month. The topic that had the most votes was prayer, so I’m excited to get into a series on this incredibly important topic with you! Through this series, I hope to help you look at prayer differently. You see, prayer isn’t just asking God to do things for you. That may be one part, but during your prayer time, you also build your relationship with God and begin to absorb His strength, peace, courage and love. …