February 3 Devotion - Answers to Prayers

 

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ الْحَارَّةَ الَّتِي يَرْفَعُهَا الْبَارُّ لَهَا فَعَّالِيَّةٌ عَظِيمَةٌ.

 

James 5:16 (Amplified Bible)

 

Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.

اِسْأَلُوا، تُعْطَوْا. اُطْلُبُوا، تَجِدُوا. اِقْرَعُوا، يُفْتَحْ لَكُمْ.

 

Matthew 7:7 (Amplified Bible)

 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

لأَنِّي عَرَفْتُ مَا رَسَمْتُهُ لَكُمْ. إِنَّهَا خُطَطُ سَلاَمٍ لَا شَرٍّ لأَمْنَحَكُمْ مُسْتَقْبَلاً وَرَجَاءً.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 New King James Version (NKJV)

 

"Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth below or in the height above."

«اطْلُبْ عَلاَمَةً مِنَ الرَّبِّ إِلَهِكَ، سَوَاءٌ فِي عُمْقِ الْهَاوِيَةِ أَوْ فِي ارْتِفَاعِ أَعْلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ»

Isaiah 7:11 NKJV

 

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven

 

لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَوَانٌ، وَلِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ تَحْتَ السَّمَاءِ زَمَانٌ.

 

 Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

 

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us

 

وَالْقَادِرُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ، وَفْقاً لِلْقُدْرَةِ الْعَامِلَةِ فِينَا، مَا يَفُوقُ بِلاَ حَصْرٍ كُلَّ مَا نَطْلُبُ أَوْ نَتَصَوَّرُ،

Ephesians 3:20 NKJV

 

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

خَيْرٌ لِلْمَرْءِ أَنْ يَنْتَظِرَ بِصَمْتٍ خَلاَصَ الرَّبِّ.

 

Lamentations 3:26

 

 

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

فَقَالَ لِي: «نِعْمَتِي تَكْفِيكَ، لأَنَّ قُدْرَتِي تُكَمَّلُ فِي الضَّعْفِ!» فَأَنَا أَرْضَى بِأَنْ أَفْتَخِرَ مَسْرُوراً بِالضَّعَفَاتِ الَّتِي فِيَّ، لِكَيْ تُخَيِّمَ عَلَيَّ قُدْرَةُ الْمَسِيحِ.

 

2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

 

I believe God answers our prayers and needs in 8 different ways. He may decide:

 

1.            I will give you before you ask

2.            Yes. Prayer request granted

3.            Yes, but you will have to wait

4.            Yes, but not as expected

5.            Yes, and here is more

6.            Be specific in your request

7.            Wait. I have something better for you

8.            No, that is not good for you “My grace is sufficient for you”

 

God loves us and whatever answer He chooses it is for our best. We need to trust The Lord and not lean on our own understanding, for His ways are extremely different and better than ours. Sometimes going through tribulation teaches us prayer and patience; patience can help us acquire experience which can lead to the increase of hope. Hope then increases our expectation, which in turn increases our confidence in the Lord.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

February 2 Devotion- Praying For Others

 

The best gift anyone can give to another person(s) is to pray for him/her/them.

Praying for another person not only helps that person find God in the midst of trouble, but also helps us recognize the blessings that God gives us daily.

Intercession is praying for someone else's needs and trusting God to act, even if it's not in the manner or timing we seek.

Jesus prayed for us to The Father, and the apostle Paul prayed for others to Jesus and God. I include their powerful prayers as today’s prayer for us:

 

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

‘I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.’

 

أُصَلِّي مِنْ أَجْلِ الَّذِينَ سَوْفَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِي بِسَبَبِ كَلِمَةِ هؤُلاَء

 ²¹ لِيَكُونَ الْجَمِيعُ وَاحِداً؛ أَيُّهَا الآبُ، كَمَا أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ فِيَّ وَأَنَا فِيكَ، لِيَكُونُوا هُمْ أَيْضاً وَاحِداً فِينَا، لِكَيْ يُؤْمِنَ الْعَالَمُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ أَرْسَلْتَنِي.

 

لِكَيْ يَمْنَحَكُمْ، وَفْقاً لِغِنَى مَجْدِهِ، أَنْ يُمِدَّ الرُّوحُ الكِيَانَ الدَّاخِلِيَّ فِي كُلٍّ مِنْكُمْ بِالْقُوَّةِ الْمُؤَيِّدَةِ،

 ¹⁷ لِيَسْكُنَ الْمَسِيحُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ بِالإِيمَانِ؛ حَتَّى إِذَا تَأَصَّلْتُمْ وَتَأَسَّسْتُمْ فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ،

 ¹⁸ تَصِيرُونَ قَادِرِينَ تَمَاماً أَنْ تُدْرِكُوا، مَعَ الْقِدِّيسِينَ جَمِيعاً، مَا هُوَ الْعَرْضُ وَالطُّولُ وَالْعُلْوُ وَالْعُمْقُ،

 ¹⁹ وَتَعْرِفُوا مَحَبَّةَ الْمَسِيحِ الَّتِي تَفُوقُ الْمَعْرِفَةَ، فَتَمْتَلِئُوا حَتَّى تَبْلُغُوا مِلْءَ اللهِ كُلَّهُ. وَلْيَهْدِ اللهُ قُلُوبَكُمْ إِلَى مَا لَدَى اللهِ مِنَ الْمَحَبَّةِ وَلَدَى الْمَسِيحِ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ!

John 17:20-21

Ephesians 3:16-19

2 Thessalonians 3:5

 

 

Jesus Loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

 

 

 

January 29 Devotion - The Divinity of Silence

 He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards himself from troubles.

                                                  

مَنْ يَصُونُ فَمَهُ وَلِسَانَهُ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ يَحْفَظُ نَفْسَهُ مِنَ الْمَتَاعِبِ.

 

                                                Proverbs 21:23

 

Here are 20 situations where the Bible recommends that we be silent:

 

 

1. Be silent In the heat of anger - (Proverbs 14:17)

 

2. Be silent When you don't have all the facts - (Proverbs 18:13)

 

3. Be silent When you haven't verified the story -(Deuteronomy 17:6)

 

4. Be silent If your words will offend a weaker person - (1 Corinthians 8:11)

 

5. Be silent When it is time to listen - (Proverbs 13:1)

 

6. Be silent When you are tempted to make light of holy things - (Ecclesiastics 5:2)

 

7. Be silent When you are tempted to joke about sin - (Proverbs 14:9)

 

8. Be silent If you would be ashamed of your words later - (Proverbs 8:8)

 

9. Be silent If your words would convey the wrong impression - (Proverbs 17:27)

 

10. Be silent If the issue is none of your business - (Proverbs 14:10)

 

11. Be silent When you are tempted to tell an outright lie - (Proverbs 4:24)

 

12. Be silent If your words will damage someone else's reputation - (Proverbs16:27)

 

13. Be silent If your words will damage a friendship- (Proverbs 16:28)

 

14. Be silent When you are feeling critical - (James 3:9)

 

15. Be silent If you can't say it without screaming it - (Proverbs 25:28)

 

16. Be silent If your words will be a poor reflection of the Lord or your friends and family - (1 Peter 2:21-23)

 

17. Be silent If you may have to eat your words later - (Proverbs 18:21)

 

18. Be silent If you have already said it more than one time - (Proverbs 19:13)

 

19. Be silent When you are tempted to flatter a wicked person - (Proverbs 24:24)

 

20. Be silent When you are supposed to be working instead - (Proverbs 14:23)

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please teach me the divinity of silence and help me to stay silent when silence is the best response. Give me wisdom and discernment Lord to follow Your directions and guidance. Lord help me to seek and depend on The Holy Spirit; which You have placed within me; in all circumstances. Teach me Lord and help me to surrender to the direction of The Holy Spirit. Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep, unfailing, and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. To Him who is able to keep me from stumbling and to present me before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

January 27 Devotion -Trans- form-ation

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

 

وَلِي ثِقَةٌ فِي هَذَا الأَمْرِ بِالذَّاتِ: أَنَّ الَّذِي بَدَأَ فِيكُمْ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً سَوْفَ يُتَمِّمُهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ.

 

Philippians 1:6 

 

When we were born again by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit came to live within us. 

When we try to live the Christian life depending on our own strength, we fail.

When we conclude that we cannot succeed on our own and surrender to The Holy Spirit, that is when we move from trying to trusting; and that trans-form-ation helps us to start flourishing in our Christian faith journey as we change internal spiritual form. Transformation as defined in the dictionary is the act of changing form. The Holy Spirit will continue to transform us to help us become increasingly Christ-like till the day we meet Jesus in person.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I know and believe that The Holy Spirit within me is the only force that will make me able to live according to Your commandments. I acknowledge that I can do nothing apart from Christ. I trust that Jesus, who has started this Christian growth journey in my life, will continue to work in me to make me more like Him every day. Thank You Father God for loving me with an unfailing, deep, inseparable, and everlasting love. Thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. God, I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, I lift You up on high, and glorify Your holy name. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray to You Father God. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

 

January 26 Devotion - God is Love

 

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

 

وَمَنْ لاَ يُحِبُّ لَمْ يَعْرِفِ اللهَ، لأَنَّ اللهَ مَحَبَّةٌ

1 John 4:8

Meditate on Bible verses that illustrate God's love for you. Make it a project to grasp how much God loves you. Read the following verses slowly and prayerfully and ask God to make them real to you.

The Lord appeared to me from ages past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

ظَهَرَ لِيَ الرَّبُّ قَائِلاً: «أَحْبَبْتُكُمْ حُبّاً أَبَدِيًّا، لِذَلِكَ اجْتَذَبْتُكُمْ إِلَيَّ بِرَحْمَةٍ.

Jeremiah 31:3 AMP

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

لأَنَّهُ هكَذَا أَحَبَّ اللهُ الْعَالَمَ حَتَّى بَذَلَ ابْنَهُ الْوَحِيدَ، لِكَيْ لَا يَهْلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ، بَلْ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْحَيَاةُ الأَبَدِيَّةُ.

John 3:16

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends

لَيْسَ لأَحَدٍ مَحَبَّةٌ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ هذِهِ: أَنْ يَبْذِلَ أَحَدٌ حَيَاتَهُ فِدَى أَحِبَّائِهِ.

John 15:13

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love

مِثْلَمَا أَحَبَّنِي الآبُ، أَحْبَبْتُكُمْ أَنَا، فَاثْبُتُوا فِي مَحَبَّتِي.

 

John 15:9

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved

أَمَّا اللهُ، وَهُوَ غَنِيٌّ فِي الرَّحْمَةِ، فَبِسَبَبِ مَحَبَّتِهِ الْعَظِيمَةِ الَّتِي أَحَبَّنَا بِها، 5 وَإِذْ كُنَّا نَحْنُ أَيْضاً أَمْوَاتاً بِالذُّنُوبِ، أَحْيَانَا مَعَ الْمَسِيحِ، إِنَّمَا بِالنِّعْمَةِ أَنْتُمْ مُخَلَّصُونَ،

Ephesians 2:4-5

Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God

وَاسْلُكُوا فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ عَلَى مِثَالِ الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي أَحَبَّنَا وَبَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لأَجْلِنَا تَقْدِمَةً وَذَبِيحَةً لِلهِ طَيِّبَةَ الرَّائِحَةِ.

Ephesians 5:2

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

وَلَكِنْ، لَمَّا ظَهَرَ لُطْفُ مُخَلِّصِنَا اللهِ، وَمَحَبَّتُهُ لِلنَّاسِ، 5 خَلَّصَنَا، لَا عَلَى أَسَاسِ أَعْمَالِ بِرٍّ قُمْنَا بِها نَحْنُ، وَإِنَّمَا بِمُوجِبِ رَحْمَتِهِ، وَذَلِكَ بِأَنْ غَسَلَنَا كُلِّيًّا غُسْلَ الْخَلِيقَةِ الْجَدِيدَةِ وَالتَّجْدِيدِ الَّذِي يُجْرِيهِ الرُّوحُ الْقُدُسُ،

Titus 3:4-5

 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins

وَقَدْ أَظْهَرَ اللهُ مَحَبَّتَهُ لَنَا إِذْ أَرْسَلَ ابْنَهُ الْوَحِيدَ إِلَى الْعَالَمِ لِكَيْ نَحْيَا بِهِ. وَفِي هَذَا نَرَى الْمَحَبَّةَ الْحَقِيقِيَّةَ، لَا مَحَبَّتَنَا نَحْنُ لِلهِ، بَلْ مَحَبَّتَهُ هُوَ لَنَا. فَبِدَافِعِ مَحَبَّتِهِ، أَرْسَلَ ابْنَهُ كَفَّارَةً لِخَطَايَانَا.

1 John 4:9-10

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your unfailing, deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. LORD, I pray that You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, and I can feel Your love for me, and to follow Your commandment to love others as You have loved me. Help me Father God to feel as a conqueror over all things that displease You through Him who loved me. I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide, long, high, and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. In Your holy name Jesus, I pray. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein