“From ashes you came and to ashes you will return.”

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21)

How will you prepare to make this year’s Easter celebration the best ever?

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In the Catholic Church, when the ashes are put on a person’s forehead in the shape of a cross, the priest says “from ashes you came and to ashes you will return.” This is a reminder of the temporary nature of our bodies and the need to focus on eternal things. Lent is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter when Christians are encouraged to confess their sins, repent, and draw near to God to prepare for the greatest celebration of the year –  the resurrection of the Messiah.

Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism.  In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we’ve done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shared that praying, fasting, and giving all go hand-in-hand.

Yesterday morning while “doing the dew,” the Holy Spirit led me to listen again to the audiobook “Too Busy Not To Pray.” While doing that, I posted former devotionals related to this topic into my blog for Your Daily Blessing. To read some of these great messages about prayer, visit today’s Link of the Day. Here are some of my favorite life lessons from those:

1) When man works, man works, but when man prays, God works!
2) Prayer is the key to unlocking God’s prevailing power in your life!
3) Our God is a giving God, a blessing God, a loving God!
4) God is capable of handling any problem we can bring Him. He is waiting for us to recognize His power and to ask Him.
5) God invites us to come into His presence!
6) The point of prayer is not to get what you want, but rather to receive what you need!
7) Without a carefully structured plan, we’re all likely to become imbalanced.
8) Faith comes from looking at God, not the mountain!
9) When the request is right, the timing is right, and you are right, God says “Go!”
10) The most common cause of unanswered prayer is prayerlessness.
11) For you to pray at all times is the will of God, not just a good idea!
12) The value of a contemplative life is character transformation.
13) Listening to God is like listening to anyone – before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen!
14) Strength comes from solitude.
15) The Holy Spirt never contradicts the Word of God!
16) Prayer is a way to maintain constant communion with God.

Prayer Power
Most gracious and merciful Father, we praise You as the great I AM. You are all we need. You are the author of our liberty. Thank You for choosing freedom as our destiny. During this season of Lent, may Your children around the globe choose to draw closer to You than ever before. May we do the things that matter, to walk in the ways of God. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Archive of devotionals related to “Too Busy Not To Pray”

Blessings to be a good steward of these 40 days of Lent to prepare for the greatest Easter celebration ever!