In 2016, I began writing a series of ministry books on various
subjects, which we published on Amazon, in both E-book and paperback. For the next few weeks, we will show an example of the contents in each of these 18 books. You
might find these books helpful in reminding you of godly concepts used
in following God. The E-books are priced at 99-cents each in USA.
Paperback books vary in prices according to the number of pages. Free
E-books are offered daily on selected books through Amazon. At the end
of this writing, you will find a link which takes you directly to Amazon
if you choose to order this book.
Joan Boney
Preface
In the 1980's, I was having meetings all over the United States for radio audiences. I would go into the city where I was on radio, rent a meeting room at convention center or hotel and meet for two or three days with the radio audience.
One time, in reading about OT prophets, I noticed how they prayed for people.
I innocently, and stupidly, announced to my radio audience I would have a meeting and pray for people.
I arrived at the Holiday Inn, where I had booked a room for the meeting, and was shocked at what I found. The room was packed with people ... wall to wall.
Myself, I would rather hear the Word of God than go to a meeting filled with prayers.
I'm not much good at prayers. It seems such a simple matter to me. I pray and God answers my prayer. That's that.
But by this one meeting I saw how greedy and ineffectual most church people are ... wanting something they think another person can get for them which they have not been able to get for themselves through prayer. Thieves, crooks, deceivers!
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One time, I was speaking at a church and the pastor called a prayer line for me to pray over people. I was amazed at how many flocked to that line wanting something they could not get themselves by prayer.
I walked up to a very big fat black woman. I said, "And what is it you want God to do for you."
She replied: "I's jest wants more of God."
I said: "God will tell me what you are doing."
She screamed out, waving her hands in the air, saying: "OH, NO, Lord ... Don't tell her!"
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That was certainly an effectual, fervent prayer ... and it brought the house down!
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I hate religious things and most prayers are so contrived, so filled with pretense, hypocrisy, they make a person hearing them sick.
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When I lived in Clovis, NM, USA, the family across the street from me were "home schoolers". They had 4 children and often had many other children meeting in school classes at their home. They were very religious.
One day, about 12 children and adults were in the front yard in a circle, holding hands, heads bowed.
I was horrified!
My mother broke her hip during that time. I got into a very difficult moment after bringing her home from hospital. She got on commode and I couldn't get her off. I ran across the street for help. The husband, who was also very religious, came over but with reluctance, I thought.
A year or so later, there was a WWII movie, Pearl Harbor, and I thought my mother might enjoy seeing this movie so I took her to the theater, It was a struggle, for her wheelchair was heavy and awkward to set up after it was folded. But I managed to get it out of car and get her into wheelchair and I rolled it into the theater. There was an open area in the seating which was about 1/2 way back from the screen. I decided to get her to the front row. I struggled with her but finally got her seated and got her wheelchair folded up and out of the way. I glanced at the row of people seated directly behind us. There sat that neighbor and his wife and 4 children (one was teenaged boy). I was amazed that none of them came voluntarily to help when I was trying to get my mother out of wheelchair and into seat.
Religious people are just terrible. Modern Sadducees and Pharisees.
Later I was giving away an IBM typewriter which I no longer used, having a computer. This teenaged boy from across the street quickly came to my house wanting that typewriter. I gave it to him.
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James 1:27 ... Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
No wonder prayer lines are so long with people wanting you to try to get things for them that they haven't been able to get for themselves. Their insides are so awful and they are so hypocritical is it any wonder God ignores them.
I ignore them also when they come to me. Pastors from around the world are always sending me emails wanting me to pray for something they can't get. Then they want me to send them money, Bibles, books ... I just delete these emails and put them into SPAM on computer so they won't be delivered again to my sight.
As we go forward with this book, maybe we can view some effectual fervent prayers of righteous men and women ... there are probably a few of those out there.
Joan Boney
1
Having Faith To Pray
Heb. 11: 6 ... But without faith it is impossible to please HIM: for he that cometh to God must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM.
To have faith to pray, it might be helpful to focus on the following instruction:
Phil. 4:6-7 ... Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Often when there is a problem, we, as humans, want to pick up the phone and tell other humans our problem. The person we talk with might care about us and our problem. But that person may not be able to help us with the problem.
(We end up dumping our problem on others this way as we try to make them our "god".)
Instead, why don't we, who profess to know God, pray?
*****
A woman in our little church group moved from Houston to Lubbock, TX, where I live. She called me one day asking me if I would go with her to hunt a light fixture which she could put above her dining room table. I told her I would meet her at the home design store.
As I drove to the store, I prayed: Please, God, help us find the right fixture ... quickly ... so it won't take a lot of effort.
The minute we stepped inside the building, I saw the fixture that would work. I let Sandra look around the store before I spoke. Then she bought the fixture.
Later I asked her if she prayed before going to look for the fixture.
She replied: "No ... I knew you would."
My faith is in God and her faith was in me.
*****
This same woman told me something I have no memory of. When she lived in Houston, she was very concerned that her elderly father would be a burden on her. She called me and asked me to pray. (I'm sure she did but I don't remember this and it is hard for me to imagine today that I would pray over such a thing but I was more fleshly then, I think.)
She said I prayed that her dad not be a burden to her and the next week or so he died.
Again, her faith was in me.
This eventually led to my having to stay away from her, plus she is very twisted and grieves me when she tries to talk, especially if she talks about religious things
I can't stand it.
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If we walk "in the light" we have fellowship one with another ... (I Jn. 1) ... but if our light is darkness, how great is that darkness, says Jesus ... the godly can't stand the darkness. If godly tried to walk with them in darkness, then godly would turn dark.
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Click here to purchase this book from Amazon.com
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All books in the Life in Christ series are available in E-book version and paperback from
Amazon.com
Type Joan Boney in the Amazon search box to purchase these books
Amazon.com
Type Joan Boney in the Amazon search box to purchase these books
