ThoughtSeeds

God tells us to delight ourselves in Him, and He'll give us the desires of our hearts. Delight means "extreme satisfaction and great pleasure." What kinds of things do you seek out for extreme satisfaction and great pleasure? Are they things that will cause you to delight in the Lord, or things that will leave you empty and coming back for more?

Numerous places in Scripture talk about our longings being satisfied. What are we longing for, and what satisfies it? God says our souls long for Him, and He fills us and satisfies us. What is your soul longing for? Jesus -- the Bread of Life and the Living Water -- is more than able to satisfy every longing you have.

A life of multiple personal difficulties and tragedies, including living through the Civil War and losing her husband and two of her children, could have broken Mary Kidder, or made her bitter. Instead, she wrote hymns and used the words the Holy Spirit gave her to minister to herself and others while she supported her family. "Did You Think to Pray?" asks us hard questions that might make us uncomfortable, but answering them to ourselves and our God honestly ultimately enriches our lives immeasurably.
"'Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?"

https://ldshymnology.wordpress.com/tag/mary-ann-kidder/
http://drhamrick.blogspot.com/.../did-you-think-to-pray.html
http://www.laricemusic.com/didyouthinktopray.html
https://wordwisehymns.com/2013/08/30/did-you-think-to-pray/

The Hebrew word used in 2 Chronicles 7:14 for 'pray' is a word that means to intercede, to intervene, to interpose. The humble praying we are doing for others as believers is in intercession. Like Abraham praying for Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and like Moses standing in the face of God's wrath to pray for the wayward people of Israel, we are called to stand in the gap for those around us, that they would be redeemed and freed by the sacrifice and grace of Jesus Christ.

https://utmost.org/intercessory-prayer/

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we're told that if God's people humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and seek His face, He'll hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. What wicked ways is He talking about? Exactly who was God talking to in this verse? And today? Who is this verse for today? Who is God calling "My people?"

Penned as a poem to comfort his mother from across an ocean, Joseph Scriven drew from his own life experiences when he wrote the words "What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear . . ." Through much personal tragedy, he testified of the healing power of taking everything to his Lord in prayer.

http://www.staugustine.com/…/story-behind-song-what-friend-…
https://www.sdretire.com/blogs/?p=125
https://www.sdretire.com/blogs/?p=125
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privilege

Why is it important to have friends -- particularly Godly friends? God tells us that two are better than one, and that good and Godly friends sharpen each other in beneficial ways. We're supposed to be encouraging to our friends and love them. Who should we NOT be friends with? The foolish and unwise, and those who are perpetually wrathful and in an angry temper. Who are your friends? Are you a good and Godly friend?

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/sharpening-one-another/
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-meaning-of-iron-sharpens-iron-in-proverbs-27-17.html

Abraham was called a friend of God, because he believed God. That trust was important to God. Moses was God's friend -- God came and spoke to him face to face as a man speaks to a friend. Jesus tells us that the ultimate definition of a friend is one who has so much love for someone, they willingly lay down their life for them. Of course, Jesus Himself did exactly that, and He is the perfect example of a friend. What does it take for you or me to be a friend of God?

In 1978, 28-year-old Ron Hamilton received the news that he had melanoma in his left eye. His only chance was surgery to remove his eye. After his bandages were taken off, his surgeon gave him an eye patch. Ron didn't know it that day, but that patch led him down the path God was leading him to. He became the much-loved Patch the Pirate, writing multitudes of stories and songs to share with children in his efforts to bring the Gospel of Jesus to them. Before he became Patch the Pirate, though, he wrote "O Rejoice in the Lord," almost immediately following his surgery. It is one of his most widely known and sung songs around the world.

https://nlbpc.org/web/posts/2544/
https://www.majestymusic.com/about-majesty-music
https://www.majestymusic.com/health

God says in Malachi 3:3 that He "sits as a refiner and purifer of silver." Refining and purifying silver requires the silversmith to sit and watch the silver in the flame, waiting for the exact moment that the dross -- the impurities -- are gone, and he can see his reflection in the liquid metal. He watches the entire time, lest it stay in the flame too long. In the same way, God watches over us as He refines us in various fires of life.

http://www.clarion-call.org/extras/malachi.htm