Couple prays for a son

Enjoy this guest post from Greg Miller and contact him to let him know you saw him on the Christian Daily Blog!

Abbie and Arthur had been married for five years and they were praying for a son.

Abbie was trusting that the Lord would give her the desire of her heart. Thus far, however, she had not been able to conceive.

“Oh, God!,” she exclaimed. “Please hear my grieving spirit! Give me a son, and I will raise him to praise and glorify your name!”

Arthur also prayed to the Father, asking Him to allow his wife to bear a son. “Sovereign Lord!,” he cried, “I promise if you give us a son, I will be the best father I can be!”

About three months later, Abbie and Arthur visited a physician, who had great news for them. “In a few months, you two will become parents,” said the doctor.

The physician, Dr. Babee Deliverer, also had a surprise for the happy couple. “It seems that the Lord is blessing you with four sons!,” he said.

“Four sons!” exclaimed Abbie. “Now that is a surprise, I was pretty sure I was expecting, but I wasn’t anticipating so much of a blessing. Thanks for the good news, Doctor.”

“Yes, Doctor, thanks for bearing the glad tidings,” said Arthur. “We may even name one of the boys after you.”

“It would be a huge honor for me if you gave them Biblical names like Adam, Moses, Matthew and Paul,” said the doctor.

After Abbie and Arthur left Dr. Babee Deliverer’s office, they returned home, enjoyed a quiet dinner, then went for a walk in a nearby park. The couple walked over several scenic trails.

“This park is certainly quiet,” observed Arthur. “The only sounds I hear are the rustling of the wind through the trees and the cheerful singing of the birds.”

The tranquility was interrupted by a loud, “Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! I’m Matthew, your son. Thanks for bringing my brothers and me to this fantastic park. It’s so peaceful. Adam, Moses and Paul can’t talk to you yet, but I thought I’d pop up for a little chat.”

“This conversation certainly is a pleasant surprise,” said Arthur. “Your mom and I both prayed for a son, but it was a real shock when we learned four of you guys were on the way.”

“Very true,” said Abbie. “But I’m just thinking…if all four of you are hungry at the same time, I won’t know which of you to feed first.”

“I’ll help you make that decision, Mom,” said Matthew. “I am now putting in an official request to get my bottle first.”

“OK, Punkin,’” said Abbie. “But I still have one unanswered question. We prayed for one boy, but the Sovereign Lord is blessing us with four.”

“That’s easy, Mom,” said Matthew. “When you pray to God with a special request, sometimes you get much more than you bargain for!”

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To contact Greg Miller for speaking engagements or puppet ministry, please email kidcool4jesus@yahoo.com.

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Pastor dreams about Daniel in the lion’s den

Enjoy this guest post from Greg Miller and contact him to let him know you saw him on Christian Daily Blog!

Pastor Donald prayed to God for guidance about how to improve his prayer life.

“I want to know that you are listening, Lord,” the pastor prayed. “Please show me how to grow closer to you when I pray.”

Pastor Donald concluded his prayer time by reading First Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.”

The pastor cried out to God, “Oh, Lord, how can I pray without ceasing? I have to sleep, plus I have to be active in the ministry to which you have called me. It’s impossible to pray every second of every day.”

“You don’t have to be physically down on your knees praying all the time,” replied the Lord. “But you always need to have an attitude of prayer.

“I love you very much,” said the Lord, “When you go to sleep tonight, you’re going to enter the world of Daniel the Prophet. After you go to sleep, you’ll have a special dream. You’ll see that Daniel was a great man of prayer.”

A few moments later, Pastor Donald was fast asleep. Immediately, the dream transported him into the past, where Daniel was praying.

In the Old Testament book of Daniel, King Darius had issued a decree that stated anyone who asked any petition of any God or man for 30 days, with the exception of King Darius, would be cast into the den of lions.

As soon as Daniel learned about the decree, he went into his house and prayed near his open window. When the king heard that Daniel had disobeyed his decree, he was sorry and wanted to deliver Daniel. But he was reminded that the decree could not be changed. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, where he spent the night.

The next morning, Daniel told the king in Daniel chapter six, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”

Pastor Donald awoke from his dream. “Wow!,” he exclaimed. “Daniel was one courageous dude. He stood true to you and to your call on his life.”

Pastor Donald then told the Lord, “I’ve discovered that in the face of persecution, a child of God will always do well to keep the faith. I‘ve always known that you are the Creator, but I have also discovered you are the world’s greatest lion tamer!”

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To contact Greg Miller for speaking engagements or puppet ministry, please email kidcool4jesus@yahoo.com.

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Never Forget!

Time to Pray

NOTE: Enjoy this guest post from my husband and fellow Pastor, Greg Bishop.

Brothers and sisters, we can see what's happening in our country and around the globe. Morals are breaking down so rapidly that we can't tell what will happen next.

We can't change the whole world, or correct everything that troubles society today, at least not instantly. But we don't have to just lie down and give up.

Regardless of what some people say, this is still a Christian nation! Not to be condemning, but I believe that we Christians have committed the sin of omission.

We have failed to seek the true help we desperately need. The Christian faith in this country is under attack and it's time to earnestly pray. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says:

"if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land." (NKJV)

You may say " I really don't know how to pray to get the response from God that we need."

Start off by praying that God will help us to be more concerned for our land. Then pray for our leaders, that God will give them open minds to seek His will and not their own.

Be earnest about your prayers. Be passionate about your prayers. God hears and He will answer!

James 5:16 is a good scripture to put to memory for such an occasion as this: "Confess your trespasses to one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (NKJV)

Let's take the time to pray!

The Awareness of His Presence

David Wilkerson, in his daily email devotional, said today, "I have come to believe that my most important prayers are those quiet whispers of thanksgiving that I offer to him all through the day. This keeps me in the awareness of his presence."

Are you suffering with fear and anxiety over the economic crisis? Are you worried about losing your job, your home, your spouse? Have you faced the loss of a loved one recently or know because of critical illness that you will soon?

Whatever the trials of life you're dealing with now, know that you can have peace when you practice the awareness of the presence of Jesus!

It's not that Jesus isn't with us all the time. He is. God is omnipresent - everywhere all the time. It's just that at times we aren't aware of His presence. We don't sense it or feel it.

But by praying continually and focusing more on Him, we can be aware of His presence through every moment of every day. And what a blessing that is!

Seek out the Lord today. Praise Him for all the little things He has done and is doing in your life. And you'll be blessed by the awareness of the presence of the one and only God of the Universe. What could be better than that?

Miracle Online Healing

A few years back, Greg had been complaining of chest pains for several weeks. He kept trying to brush off his concern, taking antacids to eliminate the symptoms. But we were concerned.

Greg's family has a strong history of heart disease. His dad died of a heart attack at age 53, a brother of one at 49, a sister of one in her mid-50's I believe, and four other siblings had suffered some kind of heart-related problems requiring medication or surgery.

Finally, one night when the pain became severe, I insisted he have it checked out. Within minutes we had arrived at the emergency room of our local hospital and were waiting for a doctor to examine him.

Thankfully, they told us his heart looked fine, but they diagnosed him with gastroesophageal reflux disease, commonly known as GERD, or acid reflux. Acid reflux is a condition where the stomach contents "reflux" (return) back to the esophagus causing inflammation that can - in the worst cases - damage the esophageal lining, and in the least cause extreme discomfort. The chest pains Greg experienced, which felt like they could be a heart attack, are a common symptom of GERD. The ER physician prescribed antacids and sent us home with instructions to visit our family doctor as soon as possible.

The next morning, we called Dr. England's office for an appointment. As soon as the doctor heard Greg's symptoms, he agreed that he was suffering from GERD and prescribed Prilosec, which at that time was the only medicine available to treat this condition. It seemed a miracle cure.

The chest pains were immediately gone, Greg was able to eat most anything again without undue problems, and we were thrilled that the illness was so easy to treat.

Fast forward five years...

Greg, who is an upholsterer, began having terrible pains in both arms. He managed the pain with Ibuprofen for awhile, but when that started to lose its effectiveness, back to the doctor he went.

This time Dr. England prescribed a prescription anti-inflammatory, but Greg couldn't take it without getting sick, even when he ate a full meal. He switched back to Ibuprofen, but the relief didn't last long enough. He'd be okay for a couple hours after taking a dose, but then the pain would return. We were afraid of the side effects to his stomach since Ibuprofen is known to cause ulcers if used in excess. The doctor ordered x-rays and other tests which revealed nothing unusual. Each time Greg saw him, Dr. England suggested that it could be Greg's work causing the problem. We didn't know what to do since he couldn't quit working.

Meanwhile, the pain in his arms had become so bad that he couldn't even lift his arms over his head. He said it felt as if he had two-hundred pound bags strapped to his arms. The only relief he found came when he was sitting in his recliner in our living room, letting his arms lay limp in his lap. He couldn't do anything without tremendous pain. His arms were virtually useless.

We began to worry that Greg would have to change his line of work. For a 50 plus year-old man, that possibility was terribly frightening. What kind of career change could he make at his age? Who would want to hire him? Along with the pain itself, the stress was becoming increasingly unbearable.

As people of faith, Greg and I had been praying for God to heal his pain. But we then began to pray earnestly that God would reveal a solution to us as to what the underlying cause of the pain was. We needed to know why he was experiencing this pain so we could learn how to eliminate it!

One day I felt a strong urge to look up Prilosec on the Internet. By this time, Greg had been taking the drug nearly six years. I wondered if maybe there was some kind of side effect that could be causing him problems.

Sure enough, on one of the medical sites describing the drug, I found a list of rare side effects. I was shocked to see that it included severe pain in the arms or legs! I called Greg at work.

"You need to stop taking Prilosec immediately!" I told him. Of course, he wanted to know why. The drug had been such a tremendous help in treating his reflux.

I explained what I'd found and printed off some information for him to read when he got home. By that time I was becoming convinced that this could be the solution we'd sought. That night, after reading several pages I'd printed from the 'Net, Greg agreed it was worth a try. He skipped his dosage the next day, and he's never taken another dose of that particular "purple pill" since.

Within two days, the pain had lessened. He could move his arms without hurting and the feeling of carrying around heavy weights began to reside. Within two weeks, Greg was completely healed... No More Pain! We were thrilled, to say the least!

We thank God for directing us to this solution and we know that the Internet is what made finding our answer accessible. Without it, we might never have discovered this little known side effect that even our doctor was unaware of.

9 Ways to Improve Your Prayer Life

There has been so much written about prayer that every Christian should be an expert at it. Yet, there are so many misconceptions about prayer that this seemingly simple, all important, Christian discipline is often neglected because of our lack of confidence in our ability to pray.

God doesn't want fancy words or flowery phrases. He wants to communicate with His children. And one of the ways He does that is through prayer. Here are seven ways to improve your prayer life, and through it, your intimacy with Jesus.

1. Pray while driving. This can be the most productive time of prayer you have. Just talk to the Lord about whatever is on your mind. (But keep your eyes open and on the road!)

2. Pray with your spouse and/or children before going your separate ways each day. A simple prayer time before everyone heads out the door will improve your outlook for the entire day.

3. Pray together before bed every night. It helps to settle our minds and spirits, and prepares us for a more restful sleep.

4. When asked to pray about something, stop right then and there, and pray. Then remember the need whenever it comes to mind throughout the day. Your friends and loved ones will appreciate knowing that if they ask you to pray about something, you will.

5. If you get irritated, angry, frightened, impatient... pray. Also, if you're happy, peaceful, on top of the world... pray.

6. Pray before meals no matter where you are - even in a restaurant, or at a friend's house. Pray silently if you need to, but honor the Lord and thank Him for providing the food you need.

7. Pray in your own words. You don't have to use "thee" or "thou" to pray (though you can if that's more comfortable). But God speaks and understands the language you speak. He just wants to hear from you.

8. Thank God for anything that comes to your mind... the beauty of creation, safety, warmth, an A on your final exam. Nothing in the lives of God's children is trivial to Him.

Do you feel it's trivial, silly, or inconsequential when your child asks you for something? Or if they thank you unexpectedly? Of course not! Nor does God, our Heavenly Father, who loves His children, too.

9. You can pray sitting, standing, or lying down. Kneeling isn't a mandatory position for praying.

Prayer is communicating with God. So simply talk to Him as if He were your very best friend. Share with Him. Be honest and open about what's on your heart. (He knows it all, anyway.) He invites us to bring everything to Him in prayer because He cares for us. And it makes us feel so much better when we pray, too!

So... pray.

Prayer and God's Confirmations

You may be aware that Greg and I are no longer pastoring, and for pastors, that's a tough spot to be in. But we decided Saturday that we'll get very serious and very specific in prayer, asking God exactly what direction He would have us go.

Of course, we've been praying, but nothing as specific as what we both agreed to this weekend. We began praying specifically about whether or not we should move to another district since there are no churches open in East Tennessee.

This morning, Greg got up before me (as he usually does) and made coffee (as he usually does). While it was brewing, he sat down to read his devotional from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. The topic of the devotional was on waiting. Basically, wait and let God work, don't do anything that might take you out of God's will or put you in front of His plan.

After he got me up and we had our morning time together, he left for work. So I sat down to have my personal devotional time. Guess what the topic was... you're right! Wait on the Lord.

Now, of course, we've been waiting - what else could we do? But while we were waiting, we haven't been waiting very patiently. These simple reminders, however, encouraged us both and seemed to confirm that God hasn't forgotten us, even though we feel like He has at time. It's wonderful to be reminded that He's still working in our lives and that He does still have a plan for us. We needed to hear that from Him.

Do you ever feel that way? Ever feel like you just need God to re-confirm His word in your life? He will if you ask Him... and wait for His answer. Let me know what He's saying to you.

What Should We Pray?

Prayer is an important aspect of our Christian faith. That's probably why there are hundreds - or thousands! - of books and articles on the subject of prayer. Many of them address the issue of HOW to pray without covering WHAT to pray... what to say when you pray.

As a pastor, it's sad to say that my own prayers bore me at times. My lack of imagination causes me to pray the same things over and over...

"Lord... meet their needs. Draw them to you. Forgive them. Open their eyes. Heal them. Touch them."

While the desire is to see God work - and that's a good thing - there are times when I yearn for more creative, original thoughts when praying.

Here are three things that I've "borrowed" from others whose prayers have touched my heart and reached into my soul. Perhaps they'll help you as much as they've helped me.

• Pray the Scriptures.

There are many beautiful passages in the Scriptures that truly draw our hearts toward God. The Psalms, being poetry and songs, especially seem to invite us to let the words become our own.

Psalm 100 has always been a favorite of mine, perhaps because it was one of the few I memorized as a child. But Psalm 51, Psalm 37 and Psalm 24 have also meant a lot to me in times of need and I have prayed them often.

When looking for other passages, the books of Isaiah, Joshua and John come to mind as offering a number of sample prayers. Then there's the well-known "Prayer of Jabez" (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) and of course, Psalm 23 and the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12) which are classics.

• Pray a song.

There are many wonderful hymns that are actually prayers. Select your favorites and sing or recite them to the Lord. But don't neglect newer numbers. Many contemporary songs offer amazing, creative approaches for communing with God.

Bob Carlisle, best known for his hit, "Butterfly Kisses," has recorded several songs that I've personally used as prayers many times. His songs "Use Me" and "Chance I Have to Take" from his debut album had more to do with me accepting God's call to full-time ministry than anything else in my life at the time. The lyrics of these two songs became, literally, the cries of my heart. And God heard those cries and called me to full-time service for Him.

Be careful what you pray for.

• Read the prayers of others.

Books of Christian poetry often contain prayers. Or you can visit some wonderful Websites with prayers and poems to help you creatively draw near the Father.

While I'm not a member of the Roman Catholic church, I thoroughly enjoy the idea of praying the Apostles' Creed as many Catholics do. Then there is always the "Serenity Prayer." You can also search Google or Yahoo for websites with "sample prayers" for many other options.

There are many other options for praying, including memorized prayers, silent meditations and simple conversations with God. While prayer doesn't have to contain flowery phrases or uniquely imaginative words, it does help us to put some thought into our prayers so they don't become simply "sounding brass" or "clanging cymbals" in the ears of our Lord.

Article copyright © by Darlene Bishop. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Darlene "Dee" Bishop is a writer and creative designer with decades on online experience and the owner of Bishop's Corner, an online/catalog shop offering hundreds of quality gifts, home decor items, toys, housewares, furniture and more with nearly 1,000 products under $20. Visit her today at http://BishopsTN.com