Do You Pray To God For Other People?
by Joy Obihara

Every time we go to church, it seems, we are given a new list of people to pray for. Most of them are sick, some have lost jobs, and some are having other difficulties. What they all have in common, though, is that they have either asked for prayer or someone recognized that they needed it.

While it is easy to pray for those who are hurting or sick when we are in church, being led by someone else, it is more difficult to remember to pray for these same people when we go home.

Prayer on behalf of others is an essential component of a Christian's prayer life. The Holy Bible requires us to pray for other people, including our enemies. When we pray for others, we are able to get our minds off ourselves and have compassion for someone else. In addition, letting someone know you are praying for them is a powerful boost to them. Even former president George W. Bush was lifted up by the prayers of millions of Americans and stated that it was something that sustained him.

We can't always understand the end result of our praying when we pray to God on behalf of others. Occasionally, we get to see the strength of prayer in action when someone close to us is healed or finds a job but often, we will never know the outcome. While that can be disheartening, it is still essential to pray for others. When feasible, let them know you are praying for them simply because this can improve the spirits of somebody who is actually hurting or sick. It lets them recognize that people care. Everyone needs encouragement and by dropping someone a greeting card and letting them know we are praying for them, we can offer them hope and reassurance.

Have you ever thought of keeping a prayer journal? This is a powerful testimony to the power of prayer and it can also serve as a reminder to pray for someone we may not have prayed for in a while.

It can also serve as personal encouragement as we witness prayer after prayer being answered. Just writing down who you are praying for can serve as a reminder to drop a card in the mail or give them a call to see how they are doing. Prayer is powerful and praying for others is a necessary and powerful way to use our prayer time.

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Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article204275.html

Does God Still Speak to us Today?
by Matt Tague

A popular question that people ask is "Does God really speak to humans today?" Two answers emerge from Christians. Yes or no. There are very intelligent people who find themselves disagreeing over this issue. My own answer is an unqualified YES.

I am sure we could all think of a weirdo or a TV preacher who says that God is speaking through them when we know it isn't true. However, just for the sake of the argument, let's throw that out and discuss the matter sincerely as people who really want to know the answer. In fact, let's get a little more specific. Let's ask, "Does God really speak to Christians today apart from the Bible?"

The group that usually answers no to the question give examples of someone who told others that God spoke to them and they ended up being wrong and it hurt someone. This example is powerful because that is a very tough life experience. It seems to give God a bad reputation when someone does that. But is that any reason to really believe that God never speaks anymore?

Consider this: throughout time, God has used two tools in the life of his church. The Bible and the Holy Spirit. We all know people who interpret the Bible wrongly but we don't throw it out because of that. Just like this, some people don't know how to interpret what the Holy Spirit is saying or doing, but we shouldn't come to the conclusion that he doesn't speak anymore because of this.

The Holy Spirit and the Word of God work together in our lives. We don't have a foolproof method of interpreting either of them to solve every ethical or moral question. We do disagree about what they say at times. But just because we disagree doesn't mean that God is silent. People disagree about all kinds of stuff. The fact that there are disagreements or abuses doesn't mean that we should shut our ears and believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, no longer speaks to us.

A passage from the Bible that supports the speaking role of the Holy Spirit is John 14:6. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads you into all truth." If the Holy Spirit really is God inside of us, then God speaks to us. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, encourager and helper. If he fulfills all these roles in our lives, it makes sense that he speaks to us as he helps us in so many ways. Listen to his voice.

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Christian Time Is Also Family Time
by Diego Martineau

Without a doubt, children are affected in very deep ways by exposing them to products that center on Christianity. If our children are exposed to these things regularly, they will understand much more easily what we believe. That way, they will go throughout their lives with a firm foundation and a higher level of faith in what they believe.

This is why it is so important that we give our children easy access to products like these. Our kids already are exposed enough to trashy things out there in the world. They need the countering balance of good things that only Christian products can bring.

So where can you turn to for a good product? If you are like me in any way, you have spent hours browsing popular bookstores only to find absolutely nothing you liked. I don't know about you, but I have become very disenchanted at the dearth of good Christian books out there.

I have noticed that the best places to find these niche Christian resources are at the Christian specialty stores. I personally ended all the countless wasted hours spent searching for things at the mass market store when I found these Christian stores that have exactly what I need. They cater to my family and my values, not some passing trend.

First off, I have no trouble finding excellent children's books and items to educate. It has been somewhat worrying to me to expose my kids to all these popular books that have no morals. I just don't think they would be taking in the messages that I want them to take in. With Christian books, my worries are no longer.

I also love the cards I can get. Whether they are cards for thanking my pastor for the great work he does, or for random holidays, I can always find what I want at the Christian store. Their cards contain good, motivational, and spiritual messages that I am comfortable sharing with anyone.

One more thing I like is the Christian artwork that I can buy to hang in my home. It's very important to have a home that is a good environment for gospel study and happy family relationships. With Christ art and other uplifting art on the walls, I feel much better about everything.

My key message here is that families benefit greatly by using Christian resources in the home. I cannot overstate the importance of exposing children to positive resources when they are young. This will set an irreversible course in their life that they will be glad they followed. It's all about Christian resources, so stop by a store and start buying stuff.

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