(Psalm 141:2 NIRV- May my prayer come to You like the sweet smell of incense. When I lift up my hands in prayer, may it be like the evening sacrifice.)
The NLV translation of today’s focal verse says, “May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship. “.
In mulling over the words of today’s focal verse, they began to deeply resonate within my spirit and have been permanently tattooed upon the walls of my heart since yesterday morning. I love intimacy with The Lord— the joy and peace that comes in sweetly communing with Him.
It is my heart’s prayer that my words would always be a sweet-smelling fragrance of praise and honor before Him and that the lifting of my hands would be a sacred gift to Him on the altar before His Holy Presence in heartfelt worship.
I have my very own love language with God and every single morning as I enter His Presence, I believe that my words leave a lasting impression upon His heart in the same manner that His Words are so deeply ingrained upon mine.
If I could leave you guys with one thing to reflect upon today, it would be this: religion means nothing without relationship. With religion you get to know about Him, but with relationship, you get to know Him. It’s in knowing Him that our prayers become impressed upon His heart— that they become like a fine orchestra of music to His ears and a sweet aroma wafting before His Holy and perfect Presence.
And so, my prayer for you guys this morning is that you would seek Him in the secret place for yourself and that you would not be content in just hearing about Him, but that you would long for an intimate relationship with Him; The One Who has not only given us life, but perpetually sustains our lives through His Life within us.
Abba, we enter Your Presence with one desire this morning, and that is, with each second that passes by— our souls yearn to know and experience You in a deeper way. Father, we give You not just our hearts, but our entire lives. With every fiber of our being, we long for more of You. With every beat of our hearts, I pray that it be a sweet perfume that is forever arising before You and all of heaven. And with every breath we take, may it be a sacred gift of endless and fervent worship that lies upon the altar for You and You alone. Our heart’s desire is to forever intimately commune with You. We love You and we treasure each and every moment in Your Presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.
“True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that – it is spiritual transaction with The Creator of Heaven and Earth.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Dear Hearts, welcome to week 11 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me this morning and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. I didn’t get a chance to write last week, so I have two features for you guys this week! Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.
Happy Friday! I love you guys!
Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂
Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop
We’re so glad you’re here!
This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.
Hosts
Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter
Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest
Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /
1.) by Kristi Miller at Finding Our Feet
“Instilling a Thankful Heart in Our Kids: 6 Tips from Colossians“
2.) by Lauren Gaskill at Making Life Sweet
“Advent 2015 Week One: Clinging to Hope and Truth In the Waiting“
Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Kristi and Lauren !
The Rules
1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!
2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.
3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!
4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!
Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.
In order to be featured next week:
Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.
By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.
Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.
Beautiful post and I love your prayer. God bless you girl and may He bless your ministry in Jesus’s name!
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Awww! Thank you so very much, sweet Isabelle! I truly appreciate you, Dear One. GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Tai,
I know I will always get a wonderful prayer to our LORD when I visit here my friend! What a beautiful reminder about how important it is to not only know about God but to truly KNOW Him! I am thankful that God has revealed Himself to me as I study and read His word. Thank you for sharing and for the opportunity to share here today. May you and yours have a blessed Christmas season as we celebrate our savior’s birth!
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Horace, I am so happy to hear that you are encouraged by my prayers and so honored to have you link-up with us today, my friend! Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! GOD bless you! 🙂
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Beautiful words of worship, Tai. How blessed are we to be afforded relationship with the King of kings?! Love that He desires relationship with us, just as we seek relationship with Him. He’s the best. 🙂 Thanks for your sweet words of encouragement to me today, friend. Fridays *are* for Faith and Friends. 😀 ((sweet blessings to you)) ❤
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Thank you so very much, Brenda! I love your heart and you are most welcome, Love! You are such a treasure. GOD bless you, beautiful friend! Love and hugs to you always! 🙂
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Thank you again for your weekly prayers.
God bless you and yours.
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You are most welcome, Victor! Thank you and GOD bless you, my friend! 🙂
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Amen, Tai. May our conversations with God be a sweet sound in His ear …
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That’s right, sweet Linda! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Amen! It’s all about relationship to our Lord and savior, Jesus!
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You are so right, Beckie! The prayer of my heart is to continually go deeper in relationship with HIM! Thank you for visiting with me today, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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Great post, Jennifer! So happy to have you link-up with me! Thanks so much for sharing and Happy Holidays, Love! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Thank you for sharing with us. Would love to see you come back this week to Sitting Among Friends and share your story with us. Have a great week. http://youresewtrendy.blogspot.com
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You are most welcome, Jaime! I will definitely be joining you this week, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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What a beautiful prayer! Thank you so much for sharing it.
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You are most welcome, Elizabeth! Thank you for joining me today, beautiful friend! GOD bless you, Love! 🙂
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Amen, my sweet friend! Relationship … not religion! Love your heart and your words as always!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
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Awww! Thank you so very much, Lori! You always bless me, so I am honored and happy to return the favor, Love. GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Tai, What an absolutely heartfelt, edifying post!
I re-read your words, “Religion is knowing “about” Him. Having a relationship with Him is to know Him.” I never thought about it that way, but it is so very true.
I loved the quote from Charles Spurgeon that you shared.
This post comes at a time where my prayer life is suffering due to the busyness of life. However, as I read this post, I realize that my faith walk will suffer too without intentional communion with the Lord, despite the busyness.
Thank you for spurring me on and for sharing!
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Karen, you are most welcome! I’m so happy to hear that your heart has been encouraged here, Love. And if there’s any way that I can stand with you or pray for you, please let me know! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Once again you blessed my soul, beautiful passage beautiful prayer but most important you painted a beautiful picture of our prayers unto God.
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I’m so glad to know that you’ve been blessed here, Sis! I love you! 🙂
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Relationship with God is so important. And we certainty wont last if we don’t have a a real relationship with Him!
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Ana, you are so very right. Thank you so much for visiting with me today! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Dear, precious Tai! What a sweet blessing it has been to have met you last night, then to come here to this edifying, wonderful post! I LOVE what you said about religion allowing us to know about God, but relationship is when we truly HIM. Oh, dear friend! I learned this the very hard way, but I am so grateful that I did! His presence is precious to me every moment of life, and I have never loved Him more! I am so excited to send you one of the books…just waiting for the anonymous commenter to get back with me…if I do not hear in a reasonable amount of time, Lord willing, I will send you your first choice. If I do hear back from her, I will send you your second choice. I will just need your mailing address. Thank you ever so much for following my blog, and I will now be following your lovely one, also. So very, very blessed to make your acquaintance! The light of Jesus’ love shines sweetly through you! 🙂
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Cheryl, it has been an absolute pleasure meeting you, Dear One and I look forward to getting to know you better. You are such a treasure of a being and I am so grateful to have been able to visit with you last night. You greatly blessed my heart. I got your email as well, so I will send you my address via email. Also, no worries or rush as far as the books go, either will be a blessing to me. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I know that it comes from a heart just as lovely. And thank you so much for visiting with me today. GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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I love the idea of having something tattooed upon our heart. That’s permanent! Your posts are always so edifying, Tai.
BTW, check your link over at Jann Cobb’s Reflect. Instead of linking your post, it linked back to the linkup!
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Mary, I’m so happy to know that you are blessed here, beautiful friend!
And I will head over to Jann’s and see it I can get that fixed now. Thank you so much for letting me know! GOD bless you, Love! 🙂
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Beautiful, Tai! I, too, want to know Him more deeply. That’s my prayer when I sit down to read His Word – reveal Yourself to me in a unique way and draw me closer to You. .
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Amen to that, sweet Sherry! That is often my exact prayer as well, Love. Thank you so much for visiting with me today, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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Beautiful post Tai. Yes indeed, in order to be filled with God’s presence an up close and personal relationship has to be established. I love the way you interact with God. I’m grateful to bear witness to others love for Christ and I’m glad I stopped by to experience yours. Religion is needed, but the only way to find His saving Grace is to get to know up close and personal. I believe the same as you and I too am overjoyed to feel His loving Spirit. “God is not Dead” and I always need a “War Room” so I can better serve the Father. GBY my sister in Christ!
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Thank you so very much for your kind comment, Walter. Your words are much appreciated. And you are very right, my friend! GOD is not dead and a war room is vital! We need that intimacy with HIM in order to know HIS heart and carry out HIS great purpose for our lives. Thank you for visiting with me today! May GOD bless you now and always! 🙂
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Relationship is everything. So blessed to join you in prayer this morning.
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Awww! Christia, I’m so happy to hear that and so glad to have you, Love! May THE LORD’S PRESENCE rest upon you now and always, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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Tai, I love, love, love your open, honest, transparent posts…I am praying your closing prayer along with you…thank you for this sweet encouragement…many blessings to you!
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Awww! Beth, I’m so happy to hear that, beautiful friend! And you are more than welcome, Love! It brings joy to my heart to know that you’re being blessed here. Thank you so much for visiting with me! GOD bless you! 🙂
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Tai, What a beautiful prayer and way to begin my morning. It reminds me of one of the Bible studies I taught to Young wives and ladies wanting to learn how to have more effective and inspirational prayer. I wrote a post on it called the place of “Further Still” A place where no one can go with you, and a place no matter how close you get to His heart and In His Presence, He always calls us to come further still. Even though we are overflowing with his love, presence, and communion, He seeks to be closer still. Blessings on your week Tai.
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Further still— oh Debbie, your words here are so precious, so powerful, and so true, Love! It’s in those “further still” moments that we truly come to know HIS heart. I love and live for those moments with HIM. Thank you for visiting with me today, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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This stands out to me, Tai: “I believe that my words leave a lasting impression upon HIS heart in the same manner that HIS WORDS are so deeply ingrained upon mine.” So glad this is true!!! Blessings to you.
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Oh, me too, Lisa! Just the thought of knowing that HE cares and HE listens to what’s on our hearts every single time we enter HIS PRESENCE is an incomparable blessing and I am so grateful! Thank you so much for visiting with me today, beautiful friend! GOD bless you! 🙂
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This is beautiful, Tai. We so need “relationship” with God. I love Spurgeon’s quote, too. And the prayer. I, too, yearn to know and experience God in a deeper way.
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Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Trudy! I pray that THE LORD will continually take you deeper in HIM, beautiful friend! I’m grateful to have you visit with me today! GOD bless you, Love! 🙂
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Love! Love! Love this! I love intimacy with the Lord! I love how he knows us intimately and how we can know Him intimately as well. Thank you for sharing your heart! I always love reading your posts!!
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There’s nothing like intimacy with HIM! … I’m so happy to hear that you loved it and that you’ve been blessed by my posts. That really means a lot to me, Love. Thank you so much for visiting with me! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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I love this prayer! Thank you featuring my post on Colossians as well! How do I grab a button?
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I’m glad that you love it and it was an honor to feature you, Love! When you link-up you’ll see the Faith ‘n Friends button which will lead you to the actual Faith n’ Friends site. I’ve wanted to do a button that would link back to my site, but I don’t know how to do it. LOL! … Thank you for visiting with me today! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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What a wonderful list you’ve compiled here, Kristi! Thank you so much for sharing, Love! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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Great, great post, Jennifer! Thanks so much for sharing! I pray that you and your family will have an amazing Christmas! GOD bless you, beautiful friend! 🙂
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