Put God First!

My mother passed away in 1998. Her name was Helen (Petry) Wilmerton. I just came across some of the handwritten notes she left behind. The following was written out on five pages of paper taken from of a very small notepad. Because of their size, they could have been easily tossed away but I believe the words were preserved for a special reason and feel compelled to share them here. I hope they are a blessing to someone.

"Oh, how important to give God the first day of each week, the first hour of each day, and the first part of every dollar, and to put Him first in our habits and in our homes. All this is not only important but worthwhile for herein lies God's secret of success.

"The giant of God, Robert McCheyne said, 'If we agree that prayer is our noblest and most fruitful employment, we likewise should give God the best part of the day. If prayer means any less than this to us, we might as well not pray at all.'

"Charles H. Spurgeon said of morning devotions, 'It should be our rule never to see the face of men before first seeing the face of God. The morning watch anchors the soul so that it will not very readily drift far away from God during the day. The morning is the gate of the day and it should be well guarded with prayer. He who rushes from his bed to his business without first pending time with God is as foolish as though he had not washed or dressed and as unwise as one dashing to battle without arms or armor.

"'Remember, the man of prayer is the man of power. The price of power is prayer. The secret of power is prayer. Prayer is power.'

"E. M. Bounds, in his wonderful little book 'Power Through Prayer' states: 'We might go through the list of men who have mightily impressed the world for God and we would find them early after God. A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good.

"'Our laziness after God is our crying sin. The children of this world are far wiser than we. They are at it early and late. We do not seek God with ardor and diligence. No man gets God who does not follow hard after Him and no soul follows hard after God who is not after Him in early morn.

"'Spiritual work is taxing work and men are loath to do it.... We can curtail our praying and not realize the peril until the foundations are gone. Hurried devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, questionable piety. To be little with God is to be little for God.'"

Prayer—the Language of Dependence on God

Lord, teach me to embrace all the circumstances You allow in my life, trusting You to bring good out of them. Help me to see them as opportunities to rely more fully on You. May my needs become doorways to deep dependence on You, increasing my intimacy with You.


Through prayer, we demonstrate our dependence on God. Take time to be still and know God today.


"Be still and know that I am God." —Psalm 46:10

Breakthrough Prayer by Jim Cymbala

Prayer is an essential part of the devoted Christian's life, Cymbala (Fresh Faith) reminds readers, and the Bible sets forth numerous examples of faithful men and women who prayed constantly.

In this inspirational guidebook for committed Christians, the author, the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, writes that he has seen the power and comfort of prayer not only in the Bible but in his own life, as well as in the lives of his church members, many of whom were personally affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Cymbala assures that God wants to hear and answer people's prayers, and thus people should pray with "certainty" and with "confidence."

He gives guidelines for making effective prayers, and suggests that only supplicants who abide by "God's spiritual laws" can expect to have their prayers answered. "An unforgiving spirit, bitterness, secret, sexual sins," he writes, "can stymie our praying." (This is the reason, he says, that he once refused to pray for a man in his Tabernacle because he lived "in fornication" with his girlfriend.)

Cymbala focuses largely on how to use prayer to become filled with joy and to cast away worries or fears, and he spends much of the book explaining how a life of faithful prayer can result in deep, lasting inner peace. Spiced with lively anecdotes—the heroin addict who found God; the disaffected young man who became a soapbox preacher—and punctuated with pullout quotations, Cymbala's impassioned message should bring encouragement to the Christian faithful. Learn more.

Operation World, 7th Edition by Jason Mandryk

Operation World is the definitive global prayer handbook that will help focus your heart and life towards God's passion for His glory. With over 1 million copies of past versions being sold, this all new 7th edition has been completely updated and revised by Jason Mandryk and covers the entire populated world.

Whether you are an intercessor praying behind the scenes for world change, a missionary reaping the benefits of intercession or simply curious about the world, Operation World will give you the information necessary to be a vital part in fulfilling God's passion for the nations. Learn more.