THE SECRET OF PRAYING

The secret of praying is to PRAY.

We go to seminars on How to Pray and yet still do not pray. We read books on How to Pray and yet still do not pray. I believe that there is only one way to learn how to pray and that is to PRAY. We must open our mouth and speak to God.

It is sad to find believers who are reticent about praying. They don’t open their mouths in a prayer meeting. Many don’t even want to come to a prayer meeting. What is wrong? We should be known as the people who “call upon the Lord.” Praying should be second nature to the believer

Pray out Loud!

Don’t just pray in your mind in your prayer time. There will be times when you will do this because prayer should be a habitual part of our lives. But when you have your specific times of prayer, pray out loud. Get used to hearing your own voice in prayer. It can be strange when you first start but it is the way to get used to praying.

I have always prayed out loud in my personal times of prayer and found it a great blessing.  Firstly, if I pray out loud, I know when I stop praying! And that can often happen. When you pray in your mind it is easy to go into dreamland and soon forget what you are praying about. When you start to do this when praying out loud, you come back to prayer with a jolt when suddenly there is silence! It also keeps your mind on what you are doing. It also gets you used to praying out loud in corporate prayer meetings.

Teach your Children to Pray out Loud!

Teach your children to pray out loud so they get used to praying. Praying should be normal to them. Encourage them to pray out loud in their personal praying. Encourage them to pray out loud at Family Devotions.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He didn’t go into a great discourse on how to pray. Instead, He prayed a prayer. He showed them how to pray by praying. We learn to pray by praying. Your children learn to pray by praying.

I am frustrated when I go to a prayer meeting and have to listen to a long message. I thought we had come to pray! Why don’t we get stuck in and pray? The need is so great. The nation is in peril. Our only hope is to call upon the Lord. Let’s do it.

We all know 2 Corinthians 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and hear another sermon…” Ooops! Did I get it wrong? Sorry. But isn’t that what we do? We come together for another sermon. Prayer is the last thing on our minds! But God won’t save our nation by another sermon. He will save our nation when we pray.

Let’s get it right, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Pray out Loud at Church!

My husband was convicted about this Scripture. Therefore, we no longer have church as usual. We don’t have a prayer meeting before the service where about three or four people turn up. We pray when we come together as a body. We spend, sometimes up to an hour, praying together as believers before we open the Word of God. Guess who is first to pray. The moment my husband says, “It’s time to pray,” the children run to the front. They get in line to pray for our nation and the different nations of the world. They are learning to be intercessors as they are given opportunity to pray.

Fellow believers, let’s get praying.

Pray individually.

Pray together as husband and wife. Faithfully pray together each day for each of your children and their needs.

Pray together as a family. Encourage all the children to pray.

Get involved in a prayer meeting where people love to pray. Or start one in your home. Gather neighbors, friends or whoever you can together and incorporate your whole family. Pray for the nation. Pray for Israel. Pray for the nations of the world. Pray as God leads you.

For the last ten years we have prayed faithfully every week with folks who live around us here in the Tennessee woods—people from different denominations who normally would not see eye-to-eye. But we don’t come together to discuss doctrine. We come together to pray. Consequently, God has drawn our hearts together in love and unity.

Now you know the secret! You don’t need to read any more books or hear any more sermons on prayer. Just start praying—and remember to pray out loud.

Start today.

NANCY CAMPBELL

www.aboverubies.org

TWENTY UPs!

Part 1

Jude 1:20-21, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

Unless we build up ourselves up in our faith, we will stay stagnant. Unless we build up our children in the faith, they will stay little babies and will not grow in the Lord. How do we build up ourselves and our families? It's the Word of God that has the power to do it. I have found 20 ways the Word of God brings us up to a higher level in our walk with God. Let's look at them.

1.    Nourish Up

1 Timothy 4:6 says we are to be "nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine..." We love to nourish and nurture our children with love, but we also need to nourish them with God's precious Word. Be a Word Nourishing mother. Of course, you'll need to be nourished yourself. Place a Bible on your window-sill to be nourished by a verse from the Psalms or Proverbs as you prepare your meals. Put a Bible in your bathroom where you can grab another little morsel when you are there for a few minutes. Keep a Bible where you sit to nurse your baby and be nourished in your soul as you nourish your little one.

2.    Build Up

In Acts 20:32 Paul commends us to the "Word of his grace which is able to build you up..." Why do we neglect God's Word when it has the power to build us up? You need building up each day. Your children need building up each day. Be a Word Building mother, into your own life and also your children. Don't forget to read a little portion of the Word of God to them every morning and every evening.*

3.    Grow Up

1 Peter 2:2 says, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." It's the way to grow in your Christian walk. If a child does not grow physically it is because they have something medically wrong with them. A person who doesn't grow in the Lord also has a problem--usually because they  lack the nutrition that comes from the Word.*

As we grow, we'll wean from  milk to devouring strong meat. Hebrews 5:13-14 says, "For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age." Don't limit your children to Bible stories only. Raise them on the richness of the Word so they can learn to chew the meat as well. (Read Colossians 3:16)

4.    Clean Up

John 15:3 says, "Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you." (Ephesians 5:26) We make sure that we wash every day and we certainly try to make sure that our children wash every day. However, it is just as important to keep clean on the inside as it is on the outside. Daily cleansing happens through the daily reading of the Word.

5.    Liven Up

Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) God's Word has the power to make you alive, to revive and refresh you.

The psalmist confessed,"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me." (Psalm 119:50) The word quickened is the Hebrew word chayah and means 'to put life into, to live anew, to recover, to make alive, to refresh, animate.' When you are feeling low, drained of all emotional energy and wiped out, how do you feel alive again? You read and claim God's promises. They are your life. The Moffat translation says, "Thy promise puts life into me." The NLT says, "Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles." And again the psalmist confesses in verse 93, "Never shall I forget thy laws for they put new life into me." (1 Peter 1:23)

We gain our very life from the Word of God. Jesus emphatically stated in Matthew 4:4 that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Deuteronomy 8:3) We do not deprive ourselves or our children of bread for the sustenance of their body; and yet how flippantly we can deprive them of the living bread that feeds their spirit. Don't look to other sources to be renewed. Find your life in God's Word. It is God-breathed. It is alive and active. As you read it in faith, you will be revived.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org


PRAYER:

""Oh Lord, please help me to be a Word Nourisher and a Word Builder to my family. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I'm building up my family, not pulling them down.

 

* To read more about the Morning and Evening Principle and also how your children can learn to grow in the Lord, go to www.aboverubies.org  Click on ARTICLES >> ENGLISH LANGUAGE and then BIBLE IN THE HOME.

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week. If you are printing this devotion and need it to be smaller, highlight and change to a smaller font.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  You are welcome to copy this article and forward it to your friends or through your Blogs and Face books.

TWENTY UPs!

Part 2

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

We continue to look at how the Word of God lifts us up.

6. Discern Up

There is so very little discernment around today. I am often amazed how even believers do not discern the difference between righteousness and evil. Many times they ignorantly condone what God says is abominable. Even Christians frequent abortion clinics! Even believers get involved in fornication! Do we have no discernment of what is truly right and wrong?

How do we get discernment? It comes from the Word of God. Hebrews 5:14 says, “Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” It doesn’t come by haphazardly reading the Bible, or just listening to a message on Sunday. It comes by constant use!  It takes being committed to read the Word to yourself and your family. The margin in my King James Bible describes “reason of use” as a habit! That means a daily exercise. I like the Knox version which says, “Solid food is for the full-grown; for those whose faculties are so trained by exercise that they can distinguish between good and evil.”

God promises that when we return back to Him and His Word that we’ll learn to discern. Malachi 3:18 says, “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth not.” He wants His teachers (which of course include parents) to teach “the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.” (Ezekiel 44:23)

My prayer is that we and our children in this generation will be like the children of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” (1 Chronicles 12:32) We are living in a new era in our nation—a time of disruption, change and deception. More than ever, we need the daily inspiration of God’s living Word which will give us discernment and understanding of what to do.

7. Enlighten Up

Psalm 19:8, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of thy words giveth light. it giveth understanding unto the simple.” True understanding and knowledge comes from God’s Word. The word understanding (bin) is also associated with discernment. The same word is used when Solomon asked God for wisdom, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern (bin) between good and bad.” We can’t have discernment without being enlightened and we can’t be enlightened without the Word of God.

Have you seen a picture of the tabernacle in the wilderness? It was formed in the shape of the cross. On the right hand side of the Holy place stood the Table of Shewbread on which the priests placed 12 loaves of bread each week. On the left hand side of the cross stood the Golden Candlestick shining its light upon the Presence bread. The light shining from the Candlestick speaks of the illumination of the Holy Spirit upon the loaves of bread which speak of the nourishment of the Word. The best translation of the Word of God is the Holy Spirit who reveals God’s Word to us.

When God enlightens His Word to us we can be wiser than our enemies. There are many enemies of God’s truth but as we fill ourselves up richly with the Word of God, we will have answers for our adversaries. Our children can have more insight than their teachers and elders when they are filled with the Word of God. Read about it in Psalm 119:78-100.

The Word of God increases the intellect as it is the source of all knowledge. James W. Alexander writes in Thoughts on Family Worship, “I cannot think it possible for any family to enjoy, twice every day for all their lives, the privilege of hearing the Scripture read at domestic worship without, by that very means, rising perceptibly and greatly in knowledge and intellectual force.”  (2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 1:17-18; Colossians 1:9)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org


PRAYER:

“”Oh Lord, please fill me with revelation and understanding as I read your precious Word.  Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m sharpening my children with the Word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword!

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week. If you are printing this devotion and need it to be smaller, highlight and change to a smaller font.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You are welcome to copy this article and forward it to your friends or through your Blogs and Face books.

 

TWENTY UPs!

Part 3

James 1:22-23, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Here are more ways the Word of God lifts us up.

8. Teach Up

Our children must be taught God’s Word. It is their right. And God commands that we do it. Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Are we taking up the challenge to teach our children diligently? This Hebrew word, shaman tells how we have to do it…

a)    To whet and sharpen. When you whet a knife, you turn it first on this side and then the other to make sure it is sharpened on both edges. We must teach the Word from every angle. We must sharpen our children with the Word so that they have an edge on them. They will not be blunt and clueless, but know what to do in every situation because the Word of God fills their heart and mouth. They will be sharp to pierce the enemy when he comes to attack them. (Read these Scriptures where shaman is translated whet or sharpen. (Deuteronomy 32:41; Psalm 45:5; 64:3; 120:4; Isaiah 5:28)

b)    To enforce and inculcate. We must teach consistently--expounding, explaining and reading it over and over again. We can’t rely on church on Sundays for their teaching; it is our responsibility to do it daily. Isaiah 28:9-10 says, “Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:9-10)  It’s hard to do this if our children are at school all day for this is part of our daily activities.

9. Heal Up

Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent forth His Word and healed them.” The Word of God has the power to heal. Colin and I knew a dear couple who had served the Lord with the China inland Mission until they came back to New Zealand in their eighties. When Mr. Arthur Beard was serving the Lord in China he got cancer. But He loved the Word of God and every day he read it out loud over his body and he was totally healed. Claim the promises of the Word over your sicknesses.

10. Light Up

It is the Word of God that lights up the way before us and shows us the path God wants us to take. Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” God has revealed His plan for us in His Word. It is up to us to study the plan so we know the way we are to walk. It is up to us to fill our children with the Word so they will be filled with light and know the way they should take. As God lights up the way for us through His Word, we are then able to shine the light for others to see the way. Philippians 2:15-16 says “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding  for the word of life.”

11. Save up

James 1:21 says, “Receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls.” It’s God’s Word that leads us to salvation. The word save is sozo which is a powerful word. It not only means ‘to save’ but ‘to heal, deliver and preserve.” The Word of God has not only the power to save our souls from our sin but to deliver us from the bondage of sin.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org


PRAYER:

“Help me, Lord, to be faithful to teach your Word to my children. May your Word be not only in my heart but in my mouth to speak out at every opportunity.  Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am lighting up my world with the Word of God.


Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week. If you are printing this devotion and need it to be smaller, highlight and change to a smaller font.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  You are welcome to copy this article and forward it to your friends or through your Blogs and Face books.

 

ENEMY CHASERS

Leviticus 26:8, “Five of you shall chase an hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”

We can be a close-knit, loving family and yet live to ourselves. I believe we should lift up our eyes to see what an influence we can be as a family to the world. One of the greatest ways we can influence the world is by prayer. The power of praying families is enormous.

Prayer should be part of every home. Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” If our home belongs to the Lord, it will be a home of prayer. That means prayers will be conducted daily. That means prayer will happen spontaneously throughout the day. That means prayer will be very natural in our home. It will be as familiar as breathing to our children. As my husband often states, “If we haven’t taught our children to pray, we haven’t taught them.”

One of the most powerful times in our home is our Family Devotions each evening where everyone prays around the table—father, mother and all the children and whoever else happens to be at the table. We pray for current needs. We pray for our nation. Can you imagine the blessings that would come to us if every family prayed together each day for their nation?

We also pray for the nations of the world. It is amazing that we can sit around our dinner table in the Tennessee woods and yet see mighty things happen for God in countries of the world to which we haven’t even visited.

Sometimes we will encourage each one to pray for a country that is on their heart or comes to their mind. Currently we are using the book 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window. After our Bible reading, we read the information about the city in the book. This last week we have been praying for the cities of Casablanca in Morocco, El Aaiun in Western Sahara, Nouakchott in Mauritania, Dakar in Senegal, Banjul in Gambia and Bissau in Guinea Bissau. We are certainly learning our geography! The children learn about the world at the same time they learn to forget about themselves and instead pray for needy, persecuted and often enslaved people in other cities and countries of the world. You can also use Operation World: Day to Day Guide to Praying for the World.

God’s Word tells us that five people can chase 100 aliens! How many children in your family? Do you have three! With you and your husband and your children (five of you) you can put 100 enemies to flight! This is amazing! This is powerful! No wonder Satan seeks to get us interested in doing everything else but pray together as a family. Dear mother, I know. There are a thousand things that turn up to lure us away from this powerful ministry. There are even “good things” that will keep us from this “best” task of moving the hand of God in prayer. Watch out for extra-curricular activities which rob us of much togetherness as a family, as especially prayer times.

This powerful ministry doesn’t just happen. You have to make it happen. You have to make it a commitment. But you can do it. I have proved it over years and years and we are still doing it today.

As it comes to this culminating moment of the day when we have the Family Altar and pray together, I am aware of the power of what is happening. We are reaching out beyond our four walls. We are going into nations of the world that are closed to the Gospel. We are going into countries where we could be killed for preaching the Gospel—but we are going in by prayer. God is hearing our cries. He hears the cries of the children.  He loves children’s prayers.

The more people we have around our table, the more prayer goes up to the throne of grace. The more children you have praying around your table, the more impact you have upon the world. Praying together is the most important thing you can do together as a family.

The enemies of God will bite the dust as you and your family pray.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org


PRAYER:

“Oh God, help me to never forget the power of prayer. Show me how I can get my family together every day to pray and impact the world. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

We are a missionary family, going into the countries of the world through the power of prayer!


The above books mentioned can be purchased by calling 818 577 5599.

You are welcome to copy this article and forward it to your friends or through your Blogs and Face books. This message must go out to woo families back to praying together for our nation and the nations of the world. Nancy

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week. If you are printing this devotion and need it to be smaller, highlight and change to a smaller font.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

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