Laura Freudig - I Fall to My Knees: Devotional Prayers Inspired by Ephesians 3

Dedication: to James Sebastian, who brings joy all out of proportion to his size

2013 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Print ISBN 978-1-62416-347-0

eBook Edition:

Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62836-273-2

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Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations 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.

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

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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At the height of its power, Ephesus was second only to Rome. The city had a population of 500,000, sophisticated public baths and aqueducts, and a 25,000-seat theater for plays and gladiatorial contests. It boasted a bustling harbor and the great Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world

But only a few centuries later, all had changed. The city had been sacked by the Goths and the temple destroyed. Most significantly, the harbor, lifeblood of travel and trade in the ancient world, slowly filled with silt. Today, the ruins of Ephesus sit miles from the sea.

Just as the buildup of silt spelled death to an ancient city, our hearts can become silted without a constant flow of Living Water. In this book, you will find prayers and devotions based on Pauls prayer in Ephesians 3:1421, which will inspire you to drink deeply the living water that only Jesus Christ can offer.

She had the apron flung over her head, while an endless flow of children eddied and swirled around her knees, and in and out of the room. They knew not to bother her, because when her apron was over her head, Susanna Wesley was praying. Most of us wont have nineteen children, or raise them without electricity, running water, refrigerators, or indoor toilets. But the distractions that keep us from prayer are just as real. Have you ever kneeled to pray, then started to itch? Remembered you had to do something... else? The devil doesnt want us to pray, and hell use whatever it takes to stop us. It doesnt have to be nineteen children if an itch on the elbow will do. Susannas perseverance produced the great Christian soldiers John and Charles Wesley, a preacher and a hymn-writer. The battle begins on our knees.

Dear Lord, You are the God of the universe, and yet You ask me to come closer. I cant stand in Your presence, yet You ask me to approach with freedom and confidence. Its all because of Jesus, Lord, that I can do this! I praise You for the great gift of Your Son, who allows me this access to You, my creator. I am so small, but I long to know You better. I am so weak, but I know You have power to spare. Help me to come to You again and again. In Jesus precious name, amen.

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

EPHESIANS 3:12 NIV

Dear Father, I thank You that Your ear is always listening for the cries of Your people. You are always listening for my voice, and You know it out of billions of others. My words are not just spoken to the empty air, but You give them Your attention. Forgive me for my sins today, Lord, for they are many. I rest under Your mercy.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven.

2 CHRONICLES 7:14 NIV

O Lord, I am so tired right now. My eyes ache, my head feels tight, and all I want to do is crawl back into bed. Already the demands of the day are pressing at me, calling me to leave You before Ive even really started talking with You. Upstairs the baby is calling from his crib, Dada! Mama! And thats what I feel like. Father! Lord! I want You. I need You. Please come to me right here, in these short minutes, and magnify them into peace and grace for the rest of this day. Amen.

But to You I cry, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer come to meet You.

PSALM 88:13 AMP

So many times, Lord, I feel the urge to drop to my knees and pray. Yet I dont. Embarrassment, busyness, a dirty floorthey can all stop me from heeding Your call. Yet I praise You that You keep calling my name again and again. Please help me to trust You enough to stop what I am doing when I hear Your call. I am on my knees now, my King. I am listening to Your voice.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying: Arise and go down to the potters house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.

JEREMIAH 18:1-2 NKJV