SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

Heart of Prayer

Words of Faith Final

Heart of Prayer

Words of Faith 1-22-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

To unsubscribe, follow the directions at the end of this devotion.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

 

Ephesians 1

 [15] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,   [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  

 

       Do you pray for your fellow believers?  Paul did.  After his burst of adoration and praise before God, Paul was immediately drawn into prayer for the Ephesians.  He prayed for more than just the bumps and bruises of life in the Ephesians. He prayed in specific areas for fellow believers.   

       What was it that drove Paul to his knees for the Ephesians?  We know that he had just concluded an expression of worship and that he had heard about the Ephesians' faith.

       First, Paul gave thanks for them.  That sure is simple, but not always easy.  We tend to give thanks for people who bless us or do what we want or behave in the way we want them to.  But Paul gave thanks for what God was doing in their lives to declare them blameless in Christ.

       Interestingly, this followed Paul's worship of God.  Praise draws us near to the heart of God. The heart of God causes us to see our blessings.  The heart of God causes us to see things and people with His eyes.  We recognize the work of God in those who are around us. We see God in those around us and give thanks rather than judge them for what they do.

      When we are not near to the heart of God, we tend to focus on our own perspective.  We focus on our own likes and dislikes.  We praise people rather than give thanks for them or bless them.  We look for faults in people rather and give thanks for them. We fail to see the work of God in the people and events that surround us.

      Next, Paul remembered them in prayer. He interceded for their needs. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Praise toward God draws us into intercession for the Body of Christ. Genuine praise causes us to intercede for the Body. We are reminded of those Jesus is calling and working on “ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.”

      Paul had heard about the FAITH of the Ephesians, what they believed and proclaimed.  He had also heard about the love of the Ephesians, how they lived and loved.  Two years after leaving Ephesus, and now 1000 miles away, imprisoned in Rome, Paul was saying, “I thank God for you. and I intercede for you.” 

     If we draw near to the heart of God, we will be driven into prayer.  We will give thanks rather than a complaint.  We will intercede rather than demand.

 

   Father God, set my heart in motion as I draw near to You.  Stir up in me a spirit of thanksgiving for my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Dispel any sense of complaint.  Give me a heart that prays for the needs of the Body and the needs of my family in Christ.  In Jesus’ Name.

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an E-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an E-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -     

The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.