Positioned
for Blessing
Not to us, O LORD, not
to us but to your name be the glory….
LORD remembers
us and will bless us….”
(Psalm 115:1, 12, NIV)
We serve a gracious God…
As we come before
our heavenly Father for our day of prayer and fasting, let us prayerfully
consider the following verses. They speak for themselves. They speak for our
Lord. May He be gracious to us….
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that
in all things at all times, having all that you need,
you will
abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8,
NIV)
When we seek Him…
“Taste and see that
the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8, NIV)
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those
whose walk is blameless.” (Psalm 84:11, NIV)
“Blessed is the man
who trusts in you.” (Psalm
84:12, NIV)
“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the
LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10, NIV)
“But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well." (Matthew 6:33, NIV)
“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my
right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue
rejoices; my body also will rest secure….” (Psalm
16:8-9, NIV)
When we are generous
and give…
“Moreover, as you Philippians know …you sent me aid again
and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am
looking for what may be credited to your account. … I am amply supplied, now
that I have received…the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an
acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs
according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:15-19, NIV)
“Give and it will
be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you." (Luke 6:38, NIV)
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will
himself be refreshed. A generous man will himself be blessed….” (Proverbs 11:25; 22:9, NIV)
“God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food.
He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in
need. You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being
generous.”
(2 Corinthians 9:10-11, CEV)
“If there is a poor
man among your brothers…. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging
heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless
you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.” (Deuteronomy 15:7, 10, NIV)
“I was
young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their
children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their
children will be blessed.” (Psalm 37:25,
NIV)
“And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace
that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their
overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I
testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their
ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege
of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's
will.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5, NIV)
“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of
your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church
shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even
when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to
your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied,
now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a
fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will
meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:15-19, NIV)
When we serve…
“For God is not unfair. He will not forget your work and
the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help
them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end….” (Hebrews 6:10-11)
“And all of you serve
each other with humble spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who
are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud. If you will humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.”
(1 Peter 5:5-6, TLB)
“Each of you has been blessed with one of
God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your
gift well. If you have the gift of speaking, preach God's message. If you have
the gift of helping others, do it with the strength that God supplies.” (1 Peter 4:10-11, CEV)
“May the God of peace , who through the blood of the
eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd
of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he
work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to
whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews
13:20-21, NIV)
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of
hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself
said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35, NIV)
When our eyes are on
Him…
“Blessed
are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your
presence, O LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long…. For you are
their glory and strength….” (Psalm 89:15-17,
NIV)
“O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”
(Psalm
118:25-26, NIV)
“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope
is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth…who remains
faithful forever.” (Psalm 146:5-6,
NIV)
“Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my
doors, waiting at my doorway.” (Proverbs 8:34,
NIV)
“Not to us, O LORD, not
to us but to your name be the glory…. The LORD remembers
us and will bless us….” (Psalm 115:1, 12,
NIV)
“Let us then fearlessly
and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of
God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our
failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help
and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” (Hebrews 4:16, AMP)
God’s heart…
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us
all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, NIV)
“Do you want more and
more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For
as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything
you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own
goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other
rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us
from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.” (1 Peter 1:2-4, TLB)
“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…. Test me in
this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for
it.’”
(Malachi 3:10, NIV)
“May the favor of
the Lord our God rest upon them; may He establish the work of their hands.” (Psalm 90:17, NIV)
“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…. And Jabez
called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and
enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep
me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he
requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NKJV)
“Now the Lord said to
Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons that they are to give this special blessing to
the people of Israel: “May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord shine
His face upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you
and give you His peace.” This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my
blessings upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.’”
(Numbers 6:22-27, TLB)
May the Lord bless us and keep us;
And shine His face upon us and be gracious
to us;
May He turn His face toward us and give us
His peace.
From Kaye and Jim Johns, e3 Prayer
