A Daily Devotional with Pastor Doug Crouse July 15, 2018 Praying Hands Scripture Reading – Ephesians 3:16 - 18 (NLT) "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." 

I'm not sure what image may come into your mind when you see the title, 'Praying Hands'. I know that if you search it out for images that the classical two hands clasped together pointed upward at a 45-degree angle would appear near to the front of the list.

When I think of these words, I think of the hands of Jesus Christ our Lord. Since He was in perfect fellowship with the Father, and given the Holy Spirit without measure, and practiced the spiritual disciplines absolutely perfectly, He was able to go from place to place and do amazing things with His hands for the glory of God, and declaration of His Person.

As the Apostle Paul penned this beautiful prayer for the Ephesian church, and by extension to each one of us in the body of Christ, we too want to be those who receive the unlimited resources of God, His Holy Spirit empowerment and strength in order that our hands may be instruments of grace in an ever increasingly needy world.

As we welcome Christ Jesus into our hearts in fullness and by His grace and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength - there will be an enriching and an empowerment of His Person in us. We then will be able to trust Jesus for even greater working through our lives to the glory of our Father in heaven. 

Prayer Father I open my hands to You in prayer and praise today. Make these hands instruments of blessing and healing I pray to all that I am able to touch. I pray this mercy through Jesus Christ my Lord. 

Memory Verse:  1 Timothy 2:8 NLT"In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.”