BERDOA SESUAI KEHENDAK-NYA

Ayat : Roma 8:18-30 Pernahkah Anda bingung saat hendak berdoa? Misalnya saja saat menghadapi penyakit. Haruskah berdoa minta kesembuhan atau mohon kekuatan untuk menanggungnya? Permintaan mana yang akan didengar Tuhan? Haruskah berdoa untuk keluar dari sebuah tempat yang sulit atau mohon kasih karunia untuk bertahan? Pada satu titik, saya sempat berhenti berdoa karena merasa tidak yakin apakah saya berdoa sesuai kehendak Tuhan. Bacaan hari ini memberi penghiburan luar biasa: "Roh Kudus membantu kita dalam kelemahan kita". Paulus mengingatkan jemaat di Roma bahwa sebagai anak-anak Tuhan, mereka memiliki pengharapan yang mulia, sekalipun mereka masih hidup di tengah berbagai penderitaan, keluhan, dan kesakitan di dunia ini (18-25). Dalam kelemahan itu, kita yang rindu berdoa dengan penuh...

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Great Goals, Great Sacrifice

Genesis 24:53 53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.  The only thing free in this world is salvation from God through Jesus Christ, and that one's free because Jesus paid the price on the cross. Eliezer had to pay a price to get Rebekah to come back with him and marry Isaac. Genesis 24:53 says, "Then he brought out gold and silver and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave expensive gifts to her brother and her mother." Great goals require great sacrifice. If you are serious about getting a focused life, you need to ask three questions: 1) What will it cost? 2) What am I willing to give? 3) Is it worth it? The greatest...

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God's Promises for You

Genesis 24:7 7 The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.  The Bible has over 7,000 promises from God to you - promises of success, confidence, health, prosperity, strength, wisdom and more. Why does God make these promises? Because he wants you to learn to trust him. When you set a goal, don't focus on the problems, focus on the promises. Find a promise in God's Word that will take you to your goal. This is what Abraham does when Eliezer, his servant, starts to worry about accomplishing the goal he is given. In today's verse, Abraham tells...

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Ask God to Help You Get There

Genesis 24:12 12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.  Once you have found your promise in God's Word, pray and ask God for success, just as Eliezer did in today's verse. Is it really okay to pray for success? Yes! If you aren't praying for success, what's the alternative? Are you going to pray for God to make you a failure? Eliezer clearly shows us that it is okay to ask God for success in accomplishing a goal as long as the motive is right. When your success helps people and honors God, praying for success does not become a selfish act. So my question to you today is this: Are you praying about your goals? Are you praying about your future? Are you praying about your dreams...

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What's Keeping You from Your Goal?

Genesis 24:5 5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?  Ask yourself, "Why haven't I reached my goal already?" What are the barriers, obstacles, and road blocks in your way? It may be a financial problem or a relational problem or an educational problem holding you back. For some people, it's an emotional barrier. A lot of people sabotage their own success because they think they aren't worthy of it. Whatever your barrier is, you need to identify it before you can move forward. In Genesis 24, Eliezer had a number of barriers to his goal of finding a wife for Isaac. He had to figure out how to get to a country he'd never been to, then he had...

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God Teaches Create a Step-by-step Plan

Genesis 24:42-44 42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: 43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; 44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son. Eliezer designed a simple but well-thought plan to find Isaac's wife. He took ten of Abraham's camels with him, loaded with samples of the best of everything Abraham owned. He journeyed to Nahor and then made the camels kneel down outside the town beside a well. Eliezer then prayed, "O Lord, God...

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Patience and Persistence

Genesis 24:21 21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. Nothing great is ever accomplished without persistence and patience because, in order to be successful, your dreams must translate into work. The people who succeed in life are the people who are willing to do what they don't feel like doing. They are not mastered by their moods, they are mastered by the Master, and they establish their goals and plans according to God's will. Eliezer was a great example of patience and persistence. We see his patience in choosing the right woman by making a detailed plan. He didn't make a snap judgment. He wasn't impulsive. The Bible says in Genesis 24:21 (NIV), "Without saying a word, [he] watched her closely to...

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Success Involves Help From Others

Ecclesiastes 4:12 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. To reach your goals you need to enlist a team for support. I've been to Africa many times and heard this proverb over and over: "If you want to go fast, go by yourself. If you want to go far, go with others." We think it's important to make a speedy decision, but it's more important to make the right decision. Success is never a one-man job; it takes teamwork. God wired it this way because the most important lesson he wants you to learn here on earth is to love people. Not only that, there are some things in your life that you will never be able to change without the support, prayers, and encouragement of other people. That's why it's so important to be in a small...

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