Sally Burke - Start with Praise: Living Empowered Through Prayer

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Cyndie de Neve is published in association with William K. Jensen Literary Agency, 119 Bampton Court, Eugene, Oregon 97404.

Sally Burke is published in association with William K. Jensen Literary Agency, 119 Bampton Court, Eugene, Oregon 97404.

Cover by Emily Weigel Design

Cover photos Bashutskyy / Shutterstock

Start with Praise

Copyright 2018 Sally Burke and Cyndie Claypool de Neve

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-7169-0 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-7369-7170-6 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Burke, Sally (President of Moms in Prayer International), author.

Title: Start with praise / Sally Burke and Cyndie Claypool de Neve.

Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017059570 (print) | LCCN 2018012281 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736971706 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736971690 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: God (Christianity)Worship and love. | PrayerChristianity. | MothersPrayers and devotions.

Classification: LCC BV4817 (ebook) | LCC BV4817 .B795 2018 (print) | DDC 242/.2dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059570

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

This devotional is dedicated to every mom around

the world who carves out an hour a week to pray

in a Moms in Prayer group. Oh, how God is using

your prayers to impact children and schools!

Contents

May the L ORD answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy over your victory

and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the L ORD grant all your requests.

Now this I know:

The L ORD gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

with the victorious power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the L ORD our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

L ORD , give victory to the king!

Answer us when we call!

P SALM 20 NIV

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.

E PHESIANS 1:18-20 NIV

T he same power that raised Christ from the dead and defeated sin and death is at work within every Christian to empower us to fulfill Gods great calling in our lives. Our prayer is that these 40 devotionals, based on the four steps of prayer, will help you live empowered and victorious through the Holy Spirit, so that you can throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV ).

Christ fulfilled His calling here on earth, and now He lives in each person who has accepted His free gift of salvation. Christ is just as determined and able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 NIV ). But one thing can stop Him from accomplishing His will in our lives: ourselves.

We want to help you unlock Gods power in your life to do His will for His glory and purpose. Even when Christ was on earth giving His disciples a lesson on prayer, He prayed Your kingdom come, your will be done (Matthew 6:10 NIV ). Prayer empowers us to do Gods will on earth as it is in heaven.

Do you feel inadequate for the tasks God has set before you, whether it be as an employee, volunteer, student, parent, or caretaker? Remember who Christ chose when He was here on Earth: twelve ordinary men. It was their faith in Christ that set them apart. As Jesus was ascending to heaven, He told them they would soon receive the Holy Spirit and be clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49 NIV ). That is the same Holy Spirit that lives in each one of us who has accepted Christ as our personal savior. As Philippians 4:13 reminds us, we dont have to do anything in our own power: I can do all this through him who gives me strength ( NIV ).

This 40-day devotional is designed to remind you each day what a powerful God we serve. We structured this around the four steps of prayer: 10 devotionals about praising our heavenly Father; 10 devotionals about the peace and power that comes through confessing our daily sins; 10 devotionals about the power in giving thanks, even when its difficult; and 10 devotionals about interceding with powerful prayers for others, handing every concern to the Lord in prayer.

While we highlight praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession separately, each day offers an opportunity to pray through the four steps of prayer, including scripture prayers. During intercession, you will have the opportunity to boldly pray Gods Word for your loved ones by placing their names in the scripture prayer. In addition, weve added a section called petition where you can pray the scripture prayer for yourself, as well.

Our prayer is that this devotional will encourage Gods peace and power to flow through you freely so that you can share the love of Christ with all those around you.

We pray this for you from Ephesians 3.