Once A Man Was Asked, “What Did You Gain By Regularly Praying To God?”

The man replied ‘nothing…but let me tell you what I lost…’

Praying to God is an amazing blessing and honor. He answers prayer in a variety of ways. In addition to all that we gain from His generosity, sometimes the best answer to prayer is not gaining but losing, which is gain.

This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She’s a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net. 

The Lord changed me in numerous ways when I accepted Christ at age 27. Most people probably wrote it off to maturity, but I knew that I was a brand-new person. It was wonderful to begin regularly praying to God and experiencing real change.

The Lord moved in and did a deep cleaning of my life. In addition to many changes, He renewed my mind and gave me wholesome thoughts. He gave me a new heart; replacing anger with love, compassion and concern for others. He helped me to discard all questionable reading material and He gave me a love for reading the Bible. I gained by losing negative habits and traits.

Countless lives, including mine, have been transformed by praying to God and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as I did. This is because Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, make it possible for us to be reconciled to God.

Through Christ we receive forgiveness and eternal life. This is the power of the Gospel!

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8 NIV)

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by praying to God, they enter God’s kingdom and through a process of regeneration, become “born again” (John 3:7 NIV).

Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (NIV)

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV)

Christians are changed when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. We become new creations in Him.

Praying to God in Jesus Name is so wonderful. Through salvation and prayer, we gain so much, but sometimes the greatest answer to prayer is not gaining but losing, which is gain. We can lose anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and the fear of death.

Because God is in the business of transforming people and lives; we can lose negative traits, habitsand fears.

Sometimes, praying to God results in immediate deliverance, sometimes the answer comes later, while at other times we wait on the Lord to grow our faith. But, God always answers prayer.

We are saved by grace and made new as God changes us, but, we our responsible for our own spiritual growth.

2 Philippians 2:12 says, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

Spiritual growth is also known as the process of sanctification and understood as God working in us to conform us to the image of Christ. We cooperate with Him by yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit.

I like this quote about praying to God and transformation:

God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature. –Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

What have you gained and lost by praying to God?

Please click here if you would like to accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior now.

Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

“Once a man was asked, ‘What did you gain by regularly praying to God?’ The man replied, ‘Nothing…but let me tell you what I lost: Anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death.’ Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is not… | CLICK TO TWEET

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• How to Conquer a Horrible Habit You Hate

• Quote card: You will never change your life…

• 3 Acceptable Sins You Can Enjoy Today…or NOT!

• Podcast: Will someone lose their salvation if they commit terrible sins?

• Podcast: Are all Sins Equal?

• What is the Worst Sin in the World?

• Podcast: Have I committed the unpardonable sin?

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

The Bad News Is Time Flies…

…the good news is you’re the pilot.

The bad news is that time flies and sometimes it seems to move quickly, while at other times it seems to move more slowly. But, the good news is we are the pilots and that means we can choose how we spend our time.

This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.

This quote reminds me of when I was in my teens and 20’s and how I piloted my own life. I was in control, charting my own course and spending my time chasing selfish pursuits. I lived a self-directed life and as a result, I spent time doing things I now regret. But, God in His mercy, changed my life when I accepted Christ at the age of 27.

I remember my Pastor giving me a short essay called: A Tandem Ride With God, to explain how God wants control of our lives when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. It’s an analogy that describes new believers and at first, they are usually the ones pedaling and sitting up front on a tandem bicycle with Jesus sitting on the back seat. But, then Jesus suggests that they switch places and let Him be the driver. As a result, life becomes a thrilling adventure with Him in control and leading the way.

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather have Jesus in control and piloting my life than me. I willingly and gladly take the co-pilot seat and trust Him so that I can safely reach the right destination. He made this possible when He died on the cross for our sins.

God has given us free will to choose to live either a self-directed life or a God-directed life in Christ.

I’ve lived both ways and I can tell you that His way is best.

But, perhaps you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Please click here if you would to do so now.

The Lord can help us with time management. Each day a Christian can pray, asking Him to fill and empower us with His Holy Spirit. By surrendering our lives each day to Him, we can trust Him to help us use our time well; and to let us know if we get off track.

This is the essence of doing as Jesus commanded His disciples in Luke 9:23 which says,

Then Jesus said to all the people: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. (CEV)

Life is a gift from our Creator and one day we will have to give an account of how we’ve lived as Romans 14:12 says, “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (NIV)

Living God’s way helps us to use our time well.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (ESV)

Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (NIV)

We need wisdom to use our time well. To gain wisdom, we need to know God’s will for us and understand how He wants us to live.

In order to know God’s will, we can seek Him by spending time with Him in prayer and Bible study.

Meeting daily with the Lord is a good investment of time and an essential component of good time management.

In addition, we can regularly schedule an extended period of time with the Lord to receive greater insight and guidance from His Word.

There are so many different Bibles versions, Bible apps, devotionals and Bible websites available to spend time in God’s Word. Biblehub.com is a Bible study site and some Bible websites such as Biblegateway.com have an audio version of the Bible.

See the Recommended Resources page on this website for many great resources.

I use an internet Bible for study, an audio version while walking, and in the evening, I read from a hard copy edition.

Using these tools can help us to grow in our understanding of God’s will and help us to use our time wisely.

We don’t know how long we have to live, so it is important that we take stock and reevaluate our lives to make sure that we are using our time well.

In addition to receiving help from the Lord, prayer and Bible reading; good time management requires an investment of time, organization, tools and effort.

Setting and achieving goals can motivate and encourage us as we see the fruits of our labor. We can use a specific method to set and monitor goals on a daily, monthly and annual basis. This type of planning requires careful thought and prayer.

The first step is to identify your purpose. Then next begin by identifying and prioritizing core values. Next, write your life vision.

An excellent book to help with time management and all of the necessary steps for setting goals is the: Don’t Miss Your Life eBook.

These resources are great for successful time management and can help us stay accountable and gain confidence.

But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand. (Isaiah 32:8 NIV)

What would you like to accomplish with your time?

Could you use some help with time management and setting goals?

Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

The bad news is time flies the good news is you’re the pilot. –Michael Althsuler | CLICK TO TWEET

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Who Needs a Vision Retreat?

• So You Think You Can’t Take a Prayer Retreat?

• 7 Steps to a Productive Vision Retreat

• 3 Wonderful Ways to Read the Bible

• 4 Steps to Identify Core Values and Make the Best Decisions

• Setting Goals or Solving Problems

• DOO IT: Four Steps to Accomplishing Your Dreams

• 4 Easy Steps to Set Goals and Become Far More Productive

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

You Are My Hiding Place; You Will Protect Me From Trouble…

…and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Life is full of trouble and lately, there have been so many disasters and tragedies. Do you ever wish you could hide when trouble comes? This verse reminds us that the Lord is our hiding place.

This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.

This past week, I received a frantic phone call from my daughter that her computer hard drive had become encrypted. In other words; her computer files were inaccessible and irretrievable. She had spent the past 24 hours searching the Internet for help and trying various remedies to retrieve the files, but without success. She was now panic stricken and understandably distraught.

She lost her college projects, art work, resume, portfolio and photographs were missing and she had not backed anything up. Those files represented countless hours of hard work. The loss was too staggering for my words to be of any comfort.

Finally, I said something that seemed to help. I told her that even if the files were lost forever, that God could help her to start over. We prayed and later she phoned again and was much calmer. She had spoken with a professional who could determine if any files were recoverable and possibly help her. It was a small ray of hope, but she felt better.

Life is full of trouble and lately there have been so many disasters and tragedies. Without faith it would be easy to become hopeless in times of trouble and in difficult circumstances.

I don’t know what kind of trouble or problems you may be experiencing. Maybe you are suffering the loss of a loved one or facing a frightening medical diagnosis. Perhaps you are experiencing a betrayal or a financial reversal.

Trouble has a way of showing up when we least expect it and catching us off guard. But, Jesus told us that we would have trouble.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)

Through faith and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we can have peace in trouble.

When we are faced with difficulties, problems or unimaginable loss; we need to know that God is our refuge or hiding place.

We can go to the Lord and meet with Him in prayer when trouble comes. He can comfort us and He is a safe shelter for the storms of life. The Lord can give us a new perspective on our problems and help us to navigate our way through the crisis. He can help us to start over if necessary.

• Psalm 86:7 says, “I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.”(NIV)

• Psalm 27:5 says, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” (NIV)

• Psalm 9:9 says, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”(NIV)

• Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (NIV)

When trouble comes, we can call on the Lord for help. I can testify that He has never failed to help me in times of trouble.

When trouble comes, we can trust in the tried and true promises contained in the Bible. We can find specific verses that are meaningful and encouraging to us. We can cling to Gods Word.

• Psalm 34:4-5 says, “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.” (KJV)

• Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (NIV)

• Psalm 9:10 says “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (NIV)

In addition to seeking help from God, the Bible, and prayer; we can ask others to pray for us in times of trouble. We can make sure that those we share with will keep our request confidential if necessary.

Lastly, we can seek wise counsel from our Pastor or another mature and trusted Christian if we face uncertain decisions that require additional insight.

Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (NIV)

Do you turn to the Lord in times of trouble?

Click here if you would to believe and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 | CLICK TO TWEET

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Seven Ways to Pray When You Are Suffering

• Why Christians Can be Confident in Crushing Circumstances

• How to Handle the Death of a Loved One

• Four Steps to Climb Out of a Pit of Depression

• How to Grow Through a Season of Loss How to Overcome the Agony of Discouragement and Find Hope Again

• 3 Wonderful Ways to Read the Bible

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth