1 Peter 5:7 - "Heart of the Father"

Last night before falling asleep, during the night when I was awake, and again this morning the Lord had me praying for pastors. He had me pray for those specifically who are walking into the pulpit this morning with heavy burdens. Some are physical issues in themselves and/or family members. Others are dealing with personal or church financial troubles. Some are burdened with relationship issues. I prayed no matter what their particular situation is they will remember they are not alone. Peter's words in I Peter 5:7 remind us to give our burdens to the Lord. In The Passion Translation it tells us to not only give them to Him but to leave them there. In our humanness it is easy to pray about something yet continue to fret over it instead of allowing God to work in and through the situation. At times our mouths say we trust God yet our faith falters. Some versions use the term cast in this verse. This word means to release something such as when you cast a fishing line out into the water. I was thinking about how when we cast a fishing line into the water we must bring it back in. Sometimes there is a fish on the end and sometimes not. Sometimes it may take several times of casting before we are rewarded. That is how life can be when dealing with situations that stretch our faith. We cast our prayers for people and circumstances to change but they do not until it is Jesus' time to do so. Just as a fisherman needs to continue to cast his line out into the water we must continue to cast our prayers up to Him. There will be times we want to give up but until God closes the doors on such prayers we must keep casting them. God woke me with the song "Heart of the Father" which reminds me God's love is all I need.

Jesus, Your name is power, it’s breath and living water
And Your Spirit guides me to the heart of the Father
Let Your praise rings louder every day and every hour
'Cause Your Spirit guides me to the heart of the Father

Woo hoo! When we allow the Trinity to be a part of every aspect of our life, we will realize His love in a deeper way than ever before. When we allow God to be our Heavenly Father, He will use Jesus as our Advocate and the Holy Spirit as our Director. When we are in relationship with Him where we not only hear His voice but have the desire to walk in obedience to Him, our trust in Him will go deeper. Relying on ourselves will not give us the peace we will have when we rely on God. We must trust Him because He knows what is best. 

Dear Jesus, Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead today! Thank You for all Doug accomplished in the yard yesterday and for the beautiful Christmas lights we walked through last night! Thank You for Your Word and the song "Heart of the Father" which encourage me greatly to keep casting my prayers up to You! Cleanse me so You can fill me so people will see/hear You through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. I pray for all including pastors going through challenging days to cast their prayers to You and allow You to work in and through their situations. My sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Doug's sister Jackie; Cait; Rhonda; Mike; Norma Hall; Jack and Paula; Beth; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; Brooklyn; April; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sherry; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many dealing with ‘c’ and/or going through treatments…Chrissy’s cousin; Mike's sister; Shirley Jones; Little Judson; Little Roselynn; a young girl in our community; Audrey; Mr Mullet; Marybeth's friend; David; Dave and Carol with his treatments; Dan; and Ray. I pray for: the Long family; Becky; Baby Sabre and her family; Debbie and her family; Mr. John; Darrell; Pam and her family; Mallory and her unborn little girl; and Russ. Thank You for continued healing for Pastor Tommy and Pam! Thank You for being My Heavenly Father! Amen.