Praying the Word of God

Here are some good reasons why we should pray the Bible – in other words, use the language and words directly from Scripture as you pray:

• It builds faith: Rom. 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

• God is bound to His own promises – pray the things He has spoken and watch what He will do: Num. 23:19 Has God said, and will He not do it? Or has he spoken, and will He not make it good?

• It assures us that we are praying according to God’s will.

1Jn. 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

• It releases the power of God – the power of the possible into our prayers: Mk. 10:27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

• If we don’t know what to pray, then this method can help us. The Word teaches us to have conversation with the Lord.

• Jesus prayed the psalms: On the cross He prayed directly from Psalm 22v1 and 31v5. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Also in Acts 4v24-26. Peter and John reported back to the other disciples after being hauled before the Sanhedrin following the miraculous healing of a lame man in Jerusalem. “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "`Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Here they were using the words of Psalm 2 as they prayed.

• The Word is food for our soul and spirit: Ps. 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

• It opens us up to a deepening of our intimacy and communication with God through a growing awareness of who God is and who we are.

           

• It allows the Word to penetrate our hearts. The Word of God is living and powerful as it works in our hearts: Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• It opens all our spiritual senses.

• It is a lamp that lights our way and guides our path - it speaks to us and leads us as we follow His words: Ps. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
 And a light to my path.

Update on Pastor Saeed Abedini

Here is an update on Pastor Saeed Abedini who is currently being held in an Iranian prison for his faith. From FOX NEWS:

An Iranian court rejected an appeal from Saeed Abedini, the American Christian pastor held in Iran for his Christian faith, and refused to reduce the eight-year prison term his supporters believe is tantamount to a death sentence, according to his family and lawyers.

Abedini, 33, an American citizen who lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and two children, has been held in Iran’s Evin Prison since September, following his arrest on a bus. His supporters say he has been beaten and tortured in the prison, and that he was only in Iran to try to start a secular orphanage.

“While we remained hopeful that Iran would use its own appeal process to finally show respect for Pastor Saeed's basic human rights, again Iran has demonstrated an utter disregard for the fundamentals of human rights,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents Abedini’s wife and their two children.

“We are exploring all options with Pastor Saeed’s family, including options in this country and abroad to bring more pressure on Iran from the U.S. and other countries around the world. The decision is deeply troubling and underscores Iran’s continued violation of principles of freedom of religion, association, peaceful assembly and expression.”

Abedini’s attorneys were hopeful that new Iranian President Hasan Rowhani, who took office this month, would show more clemency in religious persecution cases. Instead, Abedini's legal team is now more fearful that the latest legal setback could mean he'll face additional beatings and abuse inside the notoriously brutal prison.

The decision to reject Abedini's appeal came yesterday from the Tehran Court of Appeals and was handed down by a two-judge panel that refused to provide Abedini's Iranian attorney with a written copy of the decision, according to his attorneys.

One of the judges issuing the decision, Judge Ahmad Zargar, was previously sanctioned by the European Union for issuing long-term sentences and death sentences for peaceful protesters.

Abedini, who was first arrested for evangelizing in his homeland more than a decade ago, claims he was freed and told by authorities he could return to visit family as long as he refrained from spreading his faith. But when he went back to Iran last year to help build a secular orphanage, he was arrested.

“The news out of Iran is devastating to our family,” said Naghmeh Abedini, who believes her husband's only hope for freedom lies with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Naghmeh Abedini also expressed disappointment in the U.S. government.

“My husband is serving eight years in the notorious Evin prison and facing daily threats and abuse by radicals because he refuses to deny his Christian faith," she said. "I am extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to remain silent on this critical human and religious rights case of an American imprisoned in Iran.”

Although President Obama has not spoken out on Abedini's plight, the State Department, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, has condemned his continued imprisonment.

The decision rejecting the appeal comes just one month before the first anniversary of his imprisonment. Prayer vigils are planned in the U.S. and around the world for Sept. 26 and a website,www.savesaeed.org has been made to help spread the word.

10 Ways To Love - From The Bible

10 Ways To Love

Listen without interrupting - Prov. 18

He who answers before he hears--his is the folly and the shame

Speak without accusing – Jas. 1:19

Know this, my beloved brothers:

let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

Give without sparing – Prov. 21:26

All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing.

Pray without ceasing – Col. 1:9

For this reason, since the day we heard about you,

we have not stopped praying for you.

We continually ask God to fill you with the

knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding

that the Spirit gives.

Answer without arguing – Prov. 17:1

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet

than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Share without pretending – Eph. 4:15

Instead, speaking the truth in love,

we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him

who is the head, that is, Christ.

Enjoy without complaint – Phil. 2:14

Do everything without grumbling or arguing

Trust without wavering – 1Cor. 13:7

Love…it always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres

Forgive without punishing – Col. 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive one another

if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Promise without forgetting – Prov. 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life

I tried to find out where this originally came from...but just couldn't - If anyone knows, please pass it on - thank you.