LORD, you are my God. I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planned long ago, faithful and sure. ~Isaiah 25:1 (CEB)
“There can be no substitute, no rival for prayer; it stands alone as the great spiritual force, and this force must be imminent and acting. It cannot be dispensed with during one generation, nor held in abeyance for the advance of any great movement- it must be continuous and particular, always, everywhere, and in everything. We cannot run our spiritual operations on the prayers of the past generation. Many persons believe in the efficacy of prayer, but not many pray. Prayer is the easiest and hardest of all things; the simplest and the sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful; its results lie outside the range of human possibilities- they are limited only by the omnipotence of God.
Few Christians have anything but a vague idea of the power of prayer; fewer still have any experience of that power. The Church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual carte blanche on the infinite resources of God’s wisdom and power is rarely, if ever, used- never used to the full measure of honoring God. It is astounding how poor the use, how little the benefits. Prayer is our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are the least skilled, the most averse to its use. We do everything else for the heathen save the thing God wants us to do; the only thing which does any good- makes all else we do efficient.” ~From Purpose in Prayers by Edward M. Bounds
Heavenly Father, Forgive me when I brush off prayer time with You. Forgive me when prayer is the last resort for a problem. Nudge me to start all things with prayer. Help to remember that the best thing I can do for someone in need is to pray. Lord, I step forth day determined to utilize this power You allow us. All things I now turn over to you in prayer. Amen.
Pieces of the Puzzle 