admin, Author at The Abundant Life Center

Monday, October 9, 2017

Posted on Oct 4, 2017 in Uncategorized |

by Dona Hake

There is so much power in simplicity. I believe this truth can be applied to every area of our live especially prayer. Many times we can seem to think that because our problem is so complicated that the problem must be prayed with complicated wording and thoughts. Do not ever judge a child’s prayer to be ineffective simply because they did not pray the words you might have said. God sees the heart and that is the most important thing of all. He desires that we keep our hearts clean, and humble before Him in order that we may serve Him without inward distractions.

I would like to share a precious prayer that I found the other evening while reading one of my favorite books on prayer. I want you to take note of how simple yet profound it really is.

“Help me to live this day quietly and easily,

To lean upon Thy great strength trustfully and restfully,

To wait for the unfolding of thy will patiently and serenely,

To meet others peacefully, and joyfully,

And to face tomorrow confidently and courageously.”

Anonymous

The beginning of the prayer is the asking to live the day quietly and easily. I loved this. I do not see this as a request for the easy way but rather that one’s heart would remain quiet in the midst of any confusion or difficulties that may be encountered. How beautiful it is to wait patiently as His hand directs His will in your life and on that path you will seek to be at peace and maintain joy as you live and work with those around you. How powerful this simple prayer is yet it will help you see your tomorrow with confidence and courage rather than dread and fear. Remember to simply pray and pray simply. God bless you!

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Posted on Oct 4, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, October 4, 2017

“If You Abide In Him…”

by Dona Hake

I can remember promising my granddaughters that I would make them homemade pancakes one morning. I began to collect all of my ingredients, and was pleased that I was ready to go! But then I realized that there actually was one ingredient missing. I was so disappointed for I knew that this one particular ingredient could not be left out or those pancakes would have been a flop. Well I thought it would not hurt to check one more time. I kept looking and to my surprise I was able to find that very important ingredient in my spice cabinet. I was pleased for then I could make those special pancakes!

This makes me think about our life, doing God’s perfect will and how our Lord is at work each day we look to Him. He desires to work perfectly within us to perform His will. He lays out His plan and it is vital that we always follow His instructions exactly as He desires. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. Let us not be deceived to think that we can leave out those certain things He is requiring us to do, and expect His hand of blessing to be upon us. May we not think that we can follow God’s will to a point of our comfort, and hold back the obedience He is requiring of us. He has a perfect plan and a perfect way to accomplish that special assignment He has planned for each of us. Many times we can be deceived and think that we can mix our thoughts and ways into His plan, and this should never even be a thought for us. As we keep Jesus in the center of all that we do, He will direct our strengths and abilities but we can never forget that without we can do nothing. Let us look at John 15:5…

John 15:5 The Voice

“I am the vine, and you are the branches.

If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit.

Without Me, you will accomplish nothing.”

My friends this truth is always be the key “ingredient” in doing the will of the Lord. He must be a part of it, and all He asks is that we abide in Him. This is such a wonderful scripture to keep fresh in our hearts. Without Him we can do nothing and yet with Him ALL things are possible! All means all, and that little word ~all~ contains big possibilities. Whether we are trying to do things for Him or the things that involve our daily accomplishments, it would do us good to know that we are pulling ALL of our strength and wisdom from His resources. Praise Him today as you look to Him for all things, for without Him we can accomplish nothing but as we diligently abide in Him we will bear great fruit!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Posted on Oct 3, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, October 3, 2017

“His Hands Are Always Full”

by Dona Hake

“You open Your hand and they are filled with good things.”

Psalm 104:28b

Our loving God’s hands are full of abundant blessings and provision just for you! Is your heart being kept full, strengthened and maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit? Oh praise Him for He desires to open His hand and touch you with many good things today! Let us diligently watch over the gauge of our hearts and minds that warn us when we are running on low. Just as we keep an eye on the many things we own that run on batteries we must also watch that we are charged by the power of the Holy Spirit. Many times we are weakening simply because we are not drawing from the provision of our loving Heavenly Father. Sadly if we do not make adjustments and draw upon His strength, we could turn to living by our own ability…not a good thing.

My friends I encourage you to pay close attention to the warning signals that your spirit is sending you. I know I say this often but it means so much to me, and that is Jesus desires to be our closest friend and helper. The Holy Spirit is sent along side of us to comfort, strengthen and lead us at all times. A good friend will always be there to help us, and most certainly that good friend will point out to us what they are observing so they can be a support and help . Because Jesus is truly our Best Friend, may we honor Him with humble ears and hearts at all times for He desires to fill our lives with His good things and keep us strong in every area of our being. Trust Him today for what you need in Jesus Name for He is our anchor and our hope for this life!

Romans 15:13 ERV “I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Monday, October 2, 2017

Posted on Oct 2, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Monday, October 2, 2017

“Desiring A Perfect Heart”

by Dona Hake

1 Chronicles 29:19
“…and give to my son Solomon a

perfect heart to keep

Your commandments, Your testimonies,

and Your statutes,

and to do all that is necessary

to build the temple

for You, for which I have

made provision.”

Today I share a prayer with you from David. He prayed this prayer over his son Solomon. He desired that his son would have a perfect heart to keep God’s commandments, His testimonies and His statutes. I believe this is such a perfect scripture to meditate upon for ourselves and we too can pray over our own hearts. God desires that our hearts be perfect and desiring to keep His statutes that we may do His work to build the Kingdom of God for His glory.

I want you to think about this prayer in light of how this world can distract us so very easily. I believe that this prayer would invite the Holy Spirit to teach us, correct us, and help us to walk upright before Him. As we begin to pray for a perfect heart we are asking that our mind be undivided and whole. The devil loves nothing more than to take the smallest of things and cause our minds to begin to wander and worry. Distractions can cause us lack of focus and make us weary in the work. Distractions and worries many times start out as a small thing but become bigger if let go. It is those little foxes that will always spoil the vine. Many times our peace is lost, and then our focus is gone. We may start our day out purposing to serve our loving God with our whole heart but we need be vigilant. We need to stay mindful to see the importance of guarding every minute of our day that the devil does not try to trick us into thinking or doing things that are unacceptable in the eyes of the Lord. May we seek our Lord for a perfect heart toward Him that we may walk unhindered and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Lord we ask you this day to help us to serve you with a perfect and willing heart. We trust that your Holy Spirit will come alongside of us and lead, correct, guide and direct our every decision, and every path. We know that wisdom can see what we cannot see with our natural eyes so we trust you for Your wisdom over every matter of our day. In Jesus Name, amen!

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Posted on Oct 1, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Sunday, October 1, 2017

“The Sweetness of a Friend’s Counsel”

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 27:17 (The Voice)
” In the same way that iron sharpens iron,

a person sharpens the character
of his friend.”

Oh how we need to value the sweet fellowship of our friends in Christ. Today I want us to meditate of being a friend that offers sweet counsel and receiving sweet counsel from the Word of God. First of all in any relationship whether it be family or friend we need to be loyal to the truth, and live uncompromisingly according to His precepts that He has laid out in His Word for us. I love the scripture from Proverbs 27:17, and I love the challenge it brings. I am sure everyone reading this has a friend or maybe you have many friends. A true friend will keep their eye on you, and they will come to know your heart in a special way. They will be able to observe by a mere, slight change on your face that something is troubling you. In the event you fail or make a mistake, a true friend will never leave you. A true friendship withstands any hardship, and will continue to grow in the midst of any trial. In fact we will see that the trials will actually make us stronger, if we handle them in God’s wisdom and His ways. An individual that loves and cherishes their friend dearly will also desire to share in the exchange of their strengths. A true friendship never competes but will thrive and grow stronger with time.

May we be ever mindful to be grateful to our Lord for the faithful friends that He has put in our lives. Thank God for those friends that have not walked away from us when they saw our faults and made the choice to love us and pray for us. We should be so thankful for those friends that love us enough to speak God’s Word even when we do not want to hear it. Many times our mind and emotions may not want to hear the truth but our hearts should be rejoicing at the voice of godly counsel in our time of weakness and need. We must value it, and allow it to minister to us that we can be sharpened by it both in character and in countenance.

Proverbs 27:9
“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:

so doth the sweetness of a man’s
friend by hearty counsel.”

Today I encourage your heart to seek Him, and ask Him to help you be the best friend you can be to those that He has divinely placed in your life. I pray that you will recognize the God given strengths in your friends . As iron sharpens iron, let us be willing to be used to sharpen as well as be sharpened!

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Posted on Sep 30, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Saturday, September 30, 2017

“Embracing the Sweetest Silence”

by Dona Hake

“God

speaks in the silence

of the heart.

Listening is the
beginning of prayer.”

Mother Teresa

Today I would like for us to meditate upon the importance of our hearts being a place of stillness, peace, calm, and silence. I particularly want us to look at the word ~silence~. Silence is the absence of any sound or noise, it is a place of stillness. Is your heart still today or is it troubled? If your heart is troubled I encourage you to permit the same Jesus that stilled the wind and waves to still your heart that He may speak to you throughout your day.

Psalm 42:11 CEV

“Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you!

And I will praise you again because you help me,

and you are my God.”

Three different times in the Psalms the psalmist spoke to his soul and questioned it asking…”why are you so disquieted?” Sometimes we just need to give ourselves pep talks from the Word of our Lord. Quieting our hearts is so vital. It can only be done as we stop and recognize that our hearts are troubled that we would pray and ask Him to help us. It is sad to say that many people live with constant “noise” between their ears and in their heart, and it just becomes a normal thing and they accept it to be something they have to live with. The mistake anyone can make is trying to substitute the beauty of His stillness with the things this world has to offer.

Our heart is the place that our Lord dwells and I believe it should always be a place of stillness and silence. The Word tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence for from it flows the issues of life. May our hearts and minds be a guarded place. May we learn to arrest those thoughts that come from out of nowhere to rob us of our peace.

I encourage you to take inventory of your thoughts on a regular basis. Ask yourself if each and every thought is worthy of remaining in your mind. If it is not worthy it will end up robbing you of the precious peace you desire. Today I encourage you to yearn for your heart to be a place of silence and refuge. May it be a place so quiet that you can hear your Lord speak to you in prayer. May it be that place where the still small Voice is heard. Silence in the heart is truly the sweetest silence to know!

Friday, September 29, 2017

Posted on Sep 29, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Friday, September 29, 2017

“A Humble Heart Receives Correction”

by Dona Hake

When the Lord speaks to me in my quiet time or during a time of hearing the Word I love to write it down and read it many times over. My special notebook has various scriptures, thoughts, and unique quotes. It is a good thing to journal such things to look back on, reflect and deepen our revelations that we receive from Him.

This morning during my time of prayer I was re-reading over some notes that I had written a while back and I wanted to share them with you today.

“God may need to correct or rebuke us to get us back on track. Life is full of corrections on our course. Lord, you are my Shepherd, lead me! He always leads us into truth. What am I living by? Is it the truth? His Word keeps my life on course. One needs to keep their heart humbled that the Lord can do a work in their heart.”

In the silence before Him this morning, He once again reminded me that He loves me, and because He loves me I should desire His loving correction. Most importantly I must keep my heart humble. Oh that we would be ever so mindful of staying humble before Him at all times for it is then that He can speak to our hearts at any given time. Thank you Lord for keeping us standing firm and able to walk and go forward in Your will.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Posted on Sep 28, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Thursday, September 28, 2017

“The Honor of Good People”

by Dona Hake

Today we are meditating God being our integrity. The honor of good and godly people is to walk in their Lord’s integrity. First I would love for you to read this short quote as we think about our Lord guiding us in the ways and path of integrity.

“God shall be my hope, My stay,

my guide and lantern to my feet.”
William Shakespeare

If God is our hope, we have established in our hearts that He is going ahead of us. Our eyes are fixed on Him with great confidence and expectation. When we see Him as our stay, He is always all that we need in the present. He shall be the loving Anchor of our soul, and we shall not be moved. When He is our guide, He is the ultimate compass that moves in the greatest of accuracy. As He is our lantern to our feet we will be moving in His divine direction with great illumination all around us. This is the walk of a godly man or woman. This is the walk and life of showing forth His integrity.

Now let us look closely at what the word integrity means:

It means to adhere to a moral or ethical principle.

It is the soundness of moral character, honesty.

Integrity is the state of being whole, entire or undiminished.

As we practice living, breathing and moving by the Spirit of the Living God, we will be a people of great honor and integrity. From the depths of our being there will be a passionate desire to please Him and do the right thing. We will adhere to His precepts, and we will walk in God’s character which is sound and moral remaining whole, entire and undiminished. Oh the beauty of walking in the integrity of our God!

Proverbs 11:3
New Life Version
“The honor of good people will lead them…”

We thank you Lord that Your integrity shall guide us, and that Your integrity in us will draw people to You! We praise You for being our Hope, our Stay, and the Lantern to our feet that we may exhibit integrity in our lives.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Posted on Sep 27, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Wednesday, September 27, 2017

“Righteousness Walks Before God”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 85:10-13 (CEB)
Faithful love and truth have met;righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth springs up from the ground;righteousness gazes down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord gives what is good,and our land yields its produce.
Righteousness walks before God, making a road for his steps.

God desires that we live and walk by His truth and His truth alone. Our walk with Him must be led by the light of His righteousness. Many times the way of the Lord will be narrow, and sometimes even unpopular. I remember a quote that I used to have hanging on a poster in my high school classroom. It said:

“What is popular is not always

right, what is right is not

always popular.”

Many time popular trends can lead, pull and tug at our hearts. May we determine that the way of the world will not dictate the paths that we choose to walk on. Also, may we seek Him for the courage and strength to walk on right paths that are not popular in the world’s eyes. God blesses the paths that He desires that we walk in. As we seek His righteousness He WILL make a place for us to stand, He’ll make a road for our steps to walk upon firmly!

He desires to perfect all things that concern us. As we turn our hearts toward Him I believe He will cause us to see and discern when we are not on the right path. One of the secrets to knowing we are always walking in the Lord’s foot steps, is staying aware that we are not walking in our own ability nor thinking our own thoughts, but rather drawing upon the wisdom and grace that flows from above. We must purpose to draw upon the mind of Christ in our prayers, our words, and our actions. I remember many years ago the popular saying “What would Jesus do?” It was popular to wear bracelets that had imprinted upon them WWJD, and they were worn as a constant reminder of this truth. I loved this because it really did make you stop and ask yourself that question…”What would my Lord do in this situation?”

Today may we look to Him for His loving guidance, and His loving kindness in our lives. May we release our faith that He will speak to us and cause others to see His love in our lives. Help us Lord to hear with expectant hope what You desire to speak to our hearts.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Posted on Sep 26, 2017 in Devotions |

Devotional for Tuesday, September 26,, 2017

“Fresh Faith For Today”

by Dona Hake

Yesterday I shared the scripture with you from Acts 17:28, “It is through Him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are..” The Lord desires that we live IN Him in this life, and He desires we live every moment of our life by faith. He desires that we trust in Him with all of our hearts, and that we live this life in Him just as we depend upon Him for our next breath. We need not live by our own works but rather we should press in to live and move and flow from His heavenly abundance, grace and strength. Let us continue to build our faith and be mindful that our dependency must be upon Him for every moment we live. The strength we received yesterday was for yesterday’s needs. Tomorrow is a new day, and we must look to Him for new strength and provision for the needs of the day.

“The comfort you find in

a moment of faith will

be completely inadequate

for the next.”

Francois de Fenelon

It is our human nature to get caught up in special moments isn’t it? Some moments are so wonderful and just unforgettable. In this life we will be blessed to experience joyous moments that are above and beyond our belief. But then there are moments in which we will experience trials and the sorrows of this life. Jesus said those times would happen, and He has promised to be there for us when they do. Oh the joy of those sweet victories of those situations that seemed so impossible. May we rejoice in those victories, but know this my friend, we cannot live off of the fumes of yesterday’s faith and victories. We must continually press in and grow in our faith.

Today I encourage you to reflect on the wonderful victories and testimonies the Lord has blessed you with but remember that today is a new day with new demands, circumstances, and sometimes obstacles that are going to try to stop you. Look to Him with fresh faith, new strength and grace for this day, and live and move in Him by faith as you serve Him fresh today!