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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A prayer for YOU. A prayer request for me. Encouragement for both of us.

"but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”--Luke 22:32.  Jesus prayed for Peter since apparently Satan had asked for permission to "sift" Peter as wheat in verse 31. I imagine what Satan asked was similar, though not the same, as what he asked in Job's time.  I sometimes wonder if this is part of the reason Peter denied Jesus 3 times prior to Christ's crucifixion.  But Jesus prayed for Peter not only that his faith would not fail, but in turn would also strengthen his brothers. Isn't this something we should be doing for our brethren today?

I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. I think we would all agree the world and the society we live in is slowly but surely drifting away from the Lord and His Word and as a result losing its faith in God.  Sadly, this is true even of the United States.  And even more tragically, this is true even of the Lord's church itself. My heart aches just writing this devo as I think of the condition the Lord's church is in spiritually.  It seems those who want to uphold the Word of the Lord and the authority it holds are becoming fewer and fewer by the day and as a result their faith is weakened if not completely destroyed.  It seems those who truly desire to follow the commands we find written in the pages of Scripture are also becoming fewer and fewer.  And as a result the faith of the faithful is growing weak.  The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, fewer than I think many of us realize.  The faith of the church is growing weak.  The faithful are few.  It is being left up to the faithful whose faith has not failed to strengthen the brotherhood.

I am thankful to say that I can count myself among those whose faith has not failed.  However, my faith still has a lot of room for improvement.  One method I use to to strengthen my own faith is to strengthen the faith of others through encouragement.

And that is my prayer for you tonight.  I pray that your faith may not fail, no matter where you are at.  I ask that you pray this prayer for me this evening as well, that my faith may not fail.  Not only for me, but for anyone else who you know is struggling in their faith.  Strengthen that brother or sister who is struggling with their faith.  Prayer is powerful.  We can be the answer to our own prayer by encouraging that brother or sister and strengthening them in their faith.  I pray that your faith may not fail, and you...strengthen your brothers. PRAY ABOUT IT, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS.

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