ESTHER’S WARRIORS MINISTRY
Greetings as we enter Thanksgiving week! It is hard to believe that we are swiftly moving into the holiday season for 2012. First and foremost please keep in prayer all still struggling with the devastation from hurricane Sandy, those without shelter, those alone and without family and those serving our country that will not be home this holiday season. It is easy to focus on our own life and forget that many walk alone during the holidays. Others are burdened by great hardship that is more readily apparent during this season. Do what you can to lighten another’s burden. Above all else, pray for those challenged during this time.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Thanksgiving can be a stressful time as we get caught up with shopping, food preparation and family. We may get less sleep than usual and eat more sweets and rich food. Before we realize it we can become less patient with those who are at our table. Today is the perfect day to choose to be a blessing on Thursday.
The True Peace of a Thankful Heart
Take some time in these days leading up to Thanksgiving Day to go before the Lord. Pray ahead for His peace to reign on that day and every day in your heart (for it is always a heart issue). Rather than ruminating about all you have been through, be thankful that God brought you through it all to where you are today! If applicable, choose to disengage from longstanding family strife. Do not start it and do not allow yourself to become entangled. Whatever went before, leave it there. It is easy to look at what we think is not as it should be and wonder what God is doing or not doing in a given situation. Do not go there. Be the change you seek. If you change the situation shifts.
Thanksgiving begins in the heart. A consistently thankful heart focus creates an atmosphere of gratitude that permeates your entire life. Thankfulness begets blessing which leads to peace in relationships. Such harmony spreads into neighborhoods, cities, states, nationwide. Reconciliation is huge on every level. It exponentially multiplies outward. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The Choice is Yours!
Choose this day not to look back. Instead be thankful that God is faithful. He will never leave or forsake you. He knows your deepest heart desires (even some you may not know). He has plans for hope and a future for you when you diligently seek Him. The unimaginable depth of His faithfulness is the solid foundation you can count on no matter what. Despite what circumstances may look like know that God is much bigger. He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than you could ever think or imagine. Know that. Read it until you are sure of it. It is the truth. It is His truth for you.
Choose this day to step up in your faith walk and into your position. Be the peacemaker. Step into the future with a thankful heart toward God and those He has placed in your life. There is much we can learn from each other if we allow God to be fully present in our heart. He will then be fully present in our life and more visible through us to those around us. Who do people see when they look at you? Who do people encounter when they are around you? If it is not Jesus, make the change today at your very heart level to fully let Him in. Purpose today to present more of Him and much less of you to all around you. Let Him reside in your heart, make thanksgiving your heart atmosphere and He will sit at the head of your Thanksgiving table.
‘Pray the States’
This year we in Esther’s Warriors Ministry started ‘praying the states’ toward the 2012 Presidential election. We pray for each state in the order of admission to the Union and will continue. Our Nation more than ever needs consistent, diligent prayer cover state by state. This week please cover Utah admitted to the Union January 4, 1896, in prayer. Pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders, pastors and church leaders, the people residing in Utah and for all in our Nation. Each state is
important in forming our United States of America. We commit to pray for a different state each week so we not only provide prayer cover but also to make us aware that our country is bigger than the space we personally occupy in it. These are our United States. Let us pray that we will arise united ‘for such a time as this!’
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“I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is , or that will be…for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.” George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789. Taken from In God We Still Trust Devotional by Dr. Richard G. Lee
A Prayer Request and Personal Blessing
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country on foreign soil, our servicemen and women and their
families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our frontline on the battlefield, let us be their frontline in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who
have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May God richly bless the United States of America and keep her safe.
May God richly bless you with a thankful heart and a table enriched with family and friends. Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi and for safety in Israel. May we may arise united in this auspicious season in our country’s history.