DAILY DEVOTION: Tuesday: The Power of Prayer in Despair

DAILY DEVOTION

Tuesday, May 21, 2024: The Power of Prayer in Despair

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:9-11

In the depths of her despair, Hannah turned to fervent prayer, making a heartfelt vow to God. Her actions reveal the intensity of her faith & her understanding that true commitment in prayer involves both PLEAS & PROMISES.

Reflection: Consider the depth & substance of your prayers. Are they simple requests for aid, or do they reflect a deeper commitment to & trust in God's plan for your life? How can the act of making a vow, a commitment beyond mere request, deepen your relationship with God & transform your approach to challenges?

Application Steps:

1. Formulating a Prayer of Commitment:

• Identify a deep desire or challenge you are currently facing. Reflect on what you are willing to commit to or SACRIFICE for the fulfillment of this desire.

• Formulate a prayer that reflects this commitment. For example, if you are seeking a new job, you might commit to using your skills to serve others or to enhance where you serve. Your prayer could involve a promise to DEDICATE yourself to mentor others in your field.

2. Journaling Your Commitment:

• Write down the prayer & commitment you have formulated. Reflect on what this VOW means to you & how it represents a deeper engagement with your faith.

• Consider the potential impacts of this commitment on your spiritual life & personal growth. How does framing your prayer as a vow change your feelings & expectations about the outcome?

3. Meditation & Contemplation:

• Spend a quiet moment meditating on the story of Hannah. Think about her sincerity, her emotional rawness, & the strength of her faith.

• Meditate on the theme of SURRENDER & DEDICATION. Consider how you can apply these concepts in your daily life, beyond the specific context of your prayer.

4. Sharing Your Experience:

• Share the nature of your prayer & commitment with a trusted friend or spiritual leader. Discussing your spiritual journey can provide additional insights & support.

• Ask for feedback on how you can further embody the principles of faith & dedication in your everyday actions & decisions.

This approach to prayer—viewing it as a covenant with God rather than just a request line—can profoundly shape how you perceive & interact with the DIVINE. It frames your relationship with God as an active partnership, where YOUR ACTIONS & His BLESSINGS are intricately linked.

Every Blessing,
Ps. Russell & Beverly Hylton

Let's connect:
@russellhylton @beverly_hylton (Instagram)
www.russellhylton.com
www.bfwc.net

I Might Sound Old School To Some

I might sound old school to some, but I was taught & trained by people who believe in CONSECRATION. We were taught, when you go out to MINISTER, if you want the ANOINTING of God to be upon you, then you must live a life of CONSECRATION, PRAYER & FASTING. In other words, you couldn't live "any ole' way" outside of the church & then expect God to "ANOINT" you when you were up in front of God's people. I still believe this.

There are so many people walking around with the GIFT but not serving the GIVER.

"GIFTS" aren't enough. You need the ANOINTING.

I've seen people who were incredibly gifted...who can speak, sing, hoop, etc., but have no integrity/character. The Bible speaks about a man named Samson...who used to "shake" himself till the power of God would come upon him. Eventually, PRIDE cost him the ANOINTING on his life because he didn't RESPECT the ANOINTING.

We live in a time where people do whatever they want & say, "Don't be judging me!" Friends, we NEED people in our life that will tell us to GET OUR ACT TOGETHER! We need SPIRITUAL FATHERS to FATHER! We need PASTORS to PASTOR. We need ELDERS to ELD & DEACONS to DEAC!

CONSECRATION is NO JOKE! During COVID-19...we need to CONSECRATE.

Old School,
Pastor Hylton

You Can Hurt Yourself, If You Don't Have The Right Tools

You can HURT yourself, if you don't have the RIGHT TOOLS.

Yesterday, we had to replace the sump pump in our basement. Today, I also had to switch out a silencer valve on the pipe that leads from the pump to the outside. Not a huge project, but definitely one you want to have the right tools for.

I started off trying to use a flat head screwdriver to tighten the clamps. The end of the screwdriver slipped and gashed my finger a little bit. Not a big deal, but it definitely hurt. So, I grabbed my powered screw gun, & a socket that would fit, & finished tightening the clamps. Pefecto! Job completed & all is well.

Having the RIGHT TOOLS for the job & even life can save you a lot of pain & hurt.

God has given us His WORD. The BIBLE. It is relevant for today & will survive long after culture shifts "again." I began to think about how The Word of God gives us every available tool, to not only function in health in this life, but to prepare for the life to come in ETERNITY.

PARENTS, are you using the tool of God's Word to shape your children's faith? Or, are you allowing culture to shape them?

Truthfully, our children will pick up the trends & mindsets of this world, because we are in this world. That's why it is so important to shape their faith with the TRUTH of God's Word.

The Bible is unchanging, infallible & cannot be rewritten, regardless of time or culture.

2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

Are you allowing the world to dictate your beliefs? 
Are you allowing culture to dictate your beliefs?

Today, there is an attempt to subjugate moral issues, that the Scriptures are clear on, concerning HOMOSEXUALITY, ABORTION, FORNICATION, ADDICTIONS & more.

God has given us the TOOLS we need to live in FREEDOM of every sin that tempts us. We must embrace His Word, as the tool needed and model this before our children.

We do not have the luxury of allowing the culture to shape our children's truth. THE TRUTH HAS ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED.

2 Peter 1:20-21 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

I shared earlier today, "Some people reject the BIBLE because they say it contradicts itself. But the real issue is that the BIBLE contradicts their choices!" (http://bit.ly/2KXMfkD)

Using the right tools can save you from unnecessary pain.

I'm praying for every parent, to hold The Scriptures as the standard. Everything else is a frail attempt to justify lifestyles that are in violation with The Word of God.

I'm not sharing anything new. The Word of God existed long before me...so it's not "Russell's" word...it's GOD'S WORD that I declare. It needs no defense & it's not even open for debate. It's already settled.

Allow the Grace of God to lead you deeper into The Scriptures, where you will find relevant answers for your faith, family & future.

#ROOM
bfwc.net

Pray About It More Than You Post About It

We didn't INVENT prayer. God INVITED us to pray. 

Prayer invokes His involvement. It gives Him permission to act ON us, IN us & FOR us.

Don't POST all your business. You become an easy prey for the enemy, by the words of your own mouth, and an obvious attention getter for sympathy.

PRAY about it more than you POST about it. Stop accommodating the devil with your mouth. Today, refuse to give him an advantage by using your mouth, mind or body to hurt yourself or others further.

Take it the THRONE...not the PHONE!

When the Lord is teaching you to use PRAYER as a PART of your problem solving system, you will learn to patiently work thru frustrations.

Commit to daily PRAYER & attending the PRAYER MEETINGS of your local church & watch God unlock some wells in your life.

When you're CALLED, whether or not you see yourself as a threat, be clear that the devil does. You're a target! YOU NEED A PRAYER LIFE!

Be Specific

Too often we talk to everybody ABOUT our problem, except the One who can do something about it.  God says, "Let your requests be made known unto [Me]." (Philippians 4:6)

• Have you done that today?
• Have you talked to God about the SPECIFIC things you're so concerned over?

If you'll be specific with Him, He'll be specific with you.  Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it WILL be yours." (Mark 11:24)

• How do you think you would act if you knew for sure that your prayer had already been answered?  
• Wouldn't you PRAISE the LORD?  
• Wouldn't you speak confidently?

Perhaps you're having difficulty believing.  Then the WORD for you today is, "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you" (Matthew 18:19).

Join your faith with the faith of OTHERS - multiply your impact before the throne.  Unite and get results! 

When someone asks you to pray for them, take it seriously.  Don't just promise to pray - do it! The Bible is about US, not YOU!  We are told to pray for ONE ANOTHER, encourage ONE ANOTHER, and bear ONE ANOTHER'S burdens!

Today, let your requests be made known!  The door is open…He's inviting you to come!

Wake up in Prayerville

• There is great joy when you step into your office, your kitchen or your classroom with the sense of the Holy Spirit being with you because you have paused to pray.
• Every great leader takes time out and goes off by themselves to be alone in prayer.
• During prayer, you lose your sense of independence and are caught up by a power outside yourself.
• God can do almost anything with you...if given a chance.
• Jesus spent all night in prayer (Luke 6:12).  The next morning, He called the disciples to Him and named them.  A lesson to us that we should spend time in prayer before we make decisions.
• On your knees in prayer, before His all seeing eyes, VALUES become clear and decisions are able to be made without hesitation.
• After feeding 5000, Jesus retreated to pray. (Matthew 14:23) - Prayer is always needed after seeing the crowd, the sick, the hungry and the great avalanche of human needs.
• The most common excuse today for the lack of prayer is "I don't have time."  When in actuality, we find time for the things we really want to do.
• When life's demands were greatest, Jesus withdrew the most in prayer.
• We can miss mountain-top experiences because we don't take time to pray.
• When we're alone with Jesus, in prayer, our souls can absorb the peace and strength of His presence.
• For me, the early sunrise experiences in prayer trump the physical comfort of sleep.

Today, resolve to move beyond a narrow or confined prayer life.  Refuse to allow life to crowd out your time with God.

There may be times, even when you've taken time to pray, that it seems your prayers have hardly left the ground.  Keep praying!

Commit to being a learner.  Follow Jesus to PRAYERVILLE.

He will take you by the hand and lead the way for He is a loving and patient Teacher.

Next stop, Prayerville

Imagine if I were to give you a passport and a ticket and tell you "These will take you into a land where burdens are lifted, where the sun breaks through the clouds, where equipment for whatever rough roads may lie ahead is provided," what would your answer be?

Before you answered, I would tell you the stories of others who have traveled to to this land...

• A Judge, who has been called upon to make an important decision, while pressure is threatening him, withdraws into his inner office to be alone with God.  He later witnessed that this is the only thing that is keeping him sane during his most strenuous days.
• An Arbitrator, who is part of a negotiating team between management and labor, uses his lunch hour to be alone with God and is empowered to come into the meeting with such a spirit as to change the whole atmosphere.
• A Clerk, who has been pressured by an irritated boss, withdraws to a closet to pray.  She comes back calm in the knowledge that the Lord will give her patience and skill to do the job at hand.
• A harassed mother, who feels that if one more thing goes wrong in her household, she will "blow up," is persuaded to join a small group for prayer, and returns to her house so changed that her children wonder what has happened to her.

The place I'm referring to is PRAYERVILLE...it also has another name....PRAYER CLOSET.

• Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

Perhaps at this point we should say a word about some things prayer isn't...

• It is not a magic formula that will put a Mercedes in your driveway when the Lord knows that a Honda would enable you to be a better steward and eliminate the strain from your budget.
• It is not an easy way of escape from living where God has placed you (or where you in your willfulness have chosen to be).
• It is not a drug to dull your senses to the needs and calamities about you.

On the contrary...

• It is a discernment that brings values into their right perspective.
• It is the power that helps us to face life's difficulties with courage and hope.
• It is the means by which we can see the world as it is and be guided into the "how" of being a part of the solution rather than the problem.

When we pray, we "prime" the Holy Spirit!  We bring to God's well, as we turn to Him in prayer, a cup of our faith.  Then the miracle happens.  His living water flows freely into our souls to quench the thirst that nothing else can satisfy.  

Jesus spent time in PRAYERVILLE.  Both before and after performing miracles, Jesus retreated alone to a place of prayer.

• Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, a great while before dawn, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed."

Think about all that happened before He prayed...

• He had been in the synagogue teaching.
• While there, a man with an unclean spirit confronted Him.  Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and the man was made whole.
• From the synagogue, Jesus and His disciples had gone to Simon's house where Peter's mother-in-law lay ill of a fever.  Jesus took her by the hand and healed her so that she was able to minister to them.

But this day was not yet ended, for we are told that in the evening, after sunset, they brought to Him all who were ill and possessed of devils.

Yet - or should we say, so - He arose early the next morning to PRAY!

Prayer is an essential part of our day.  When we commune with God, we are transported to a place of peace!

More to come....