July 7, 2021

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a blessed day. Yesterday we  had a day of good rain  and it was so needed. This morning I made egg dishes and went to Aldi’s and my exercise class. This afternoon is crafts and tonight we have Bible Study at church.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Isn’t it nice to have good friends that we know us so well that we can just talk freely and not be concerned about weighing our words? They know our hearts and are reading them, more than the exact words we speak. I learned something new while reading Michael Casey’s take on Mark 11:23 that when it says, “Amen I say to you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and cast into the sea’ and does not judge in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, so it will be for him.” The meaning is for us not to spend too much time weighing up the possibilities before making the request. Just say it! We don’t have to filter our prayers but simply be real and speak to the Lord what is on our hearts. We are told to boldly come before His throne of grace and come just as we are. No sense in saying fake prayers that sound beautiful but are not spoken in truth but in pretense. We don’t have to think about how our prayers and petitions sound to others or if we follow some formula given, but just speak to the Lord from our hearts. When Al and I were at Bible School in California, there was a new student who had recently come to the Lord. The stories of the Bible we had heard since we were kids in Sunday school were new to her, and she prayed with her heart fully engaged. She was excited over the miracles, and talked to the Lord like she was sitting right next to Him and so personally. My own heart was convicted by listening to her prayers. We should never let our relationship with the Lord get trite and old hat, but new and real. We are invited to pray for the impossible, and to keep on praying and not lose heart.  We can let God know all our needs and leave the results up to Him. We are completely dependent on the One who can read our hearts, listens to us and answers, and loves us beyond measure.

Challenge for today: The next time you feel angry or out of sorts, be real and pray without filtering your words. knowing that God is reading your heart.