A GIFT FOR ALL SEASONS

Prayer is a gift.

I cannot imagine living my life without prayer. I could not survive.

To be able to enter the throne-room of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is a privilege that we too often take for granted. We should not. To encounter the living God is an experience that every believer can have, not just once in a lifetime, but moment by moment!

Every day my INBOX is filled with prayer requests. My heart is torn by the magnitude of some of these requests...of the hurts that some are enduring at this moment. It seems that Satan is unleashing all the weapons of his arsenal in a last ditch effort to steal, to kill and to destroy. Disease is running rampant as I hear every day of someone else who is suddenly confronted with a catastrophic illness. Lives are being snuffed out in accidents and suicides, devastating families. Jobs are being lost and financial woes are plaguing those that until recently had always lived the "good life". Families are being torn apart by divisions in relationships, by divorce, by unfaithfulness and by neglect.

Needs are great...some seemingly insurmountable. What do you do when it comes to YOUR door? There is only one answer. Take it to the Lord in prayer.

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer.

--WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS, Charles Converse

If the world from you withhold

all its silver and its gold

And you have to get along with meager fare,

Just remember in His word

how He feeds the little bird,

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

If your body suffers pain

And your health you can't regain

And your soul is almost sinking in despair,

Jesus knows the pain you feel

He can save and He can heal.

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

When your enemies assail

And your heart begins to fail,

Don't forget that God in Heaven

Answers prayer

He will make a way for you

and will lead your safely through.

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

When your youthful days are gone

and old age is stealing on

And your body bends beneath the weight of care,

He will never leave you then

He'll go with you to the end.

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

Leave it there...

Leave it there...

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt,

He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord

And leave it there.

--LEAVE IT THERE, C. Albert Tindley 1916

Yes, prayer is a gift to us. Jesus paved the way of prayer for us when He died on Calvary and split the veil in two. We no longer require a mediator... a priest. He IS our high priest. We can go directly to the throne and "leave it there". Today avail yourself of this precious gift. Take your troubles to the Lord and leave them there. Allow Him to speak to you, to comfort you, to direct your paths. He delights to do so. He longs to spend time with you. Jesus paid a high price for this gift. Won't you "unwrap it" and make use of it today?