Now more than ever faith is being tested all over the world. On June 18th, 2009, I was laid off from my job of over 7 years. I knew it was coming. I started packing my things the day before the meeting with the VP of my department. Thankfully, I did not have to go through the embarrassing moment of packing in front of my co-workers and being led out the door.

I looked for verse from the Bible that helps me through this challenging time. I found the following:

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I admit that I'm a little nervous...but I'm so thankful. For a while, I've known that God did not want me in this position. I feel that there is something bigger and better in the world for me. On the way to work, I would pray thankful prayers. I would thank God that I have a job and benefits. I would thank Him for his favor, mercy, blessings and grace. I would also thank Him for favor, mercy, blessings and grace for family and friends.

I've found that in times like this it is important to be thankful. God wants to know that you don't just thank Him in the good times, but you also thank Him during the hard times. It's important to thank God no matter what. Being thankful only brings you closer to God.

I'm so blessed. God made sure that I was given a great severance package. I'm able to rest. I'm also able to continue the journey that I know God wants me to be on.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understandings; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Why are some prayers not answered?

Do you ever wonder why some prayers are answered, while other prayers are not answered? Does it ever seem like the most important prayers just don't get answered?

Prayer is a gift from God. It allows us an intimate relationship with Him. God loves when we come to him. He wants to answer our prayers.

The Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

I've found that all prayers are answered....not always the way we hope or expect. There are times when God gives us exactly what we ask for. What a blessing that is. It's like God is giving us His approval with a hug. It's the most amazing thing to feel God when He blesses us. Then there are other times when we don't get exactly what we want. This is where we need to have faith. During this time God may be trying to teach us something. Just know that whatever God has given you is for your own good. Finally, the answer to your prayer may be no. This doesn't mean that God doesn't love you. It means that He has something better for you. Sometimes there's a journey that comes with this gift. The journey may be a long one or a short one...depending on what God wants you to learn, and how long it takes you to learn.

Remember God does answer your prayers.

God bless.

Discuss Joyce Meyer "Humble, Gentle, Meek & Lowly"

Please take time to view Joyce Meyer's message at the following: http://www.joycemeyer.org/ourministries/broadcast/

Today Joyce Meyer discusses how important it is to be humble. A lot of people think that being meek is akin to being weak. This is not true. Joyce Meyer defined meek as being "...strength under control." This is important to learn. In fact, I believe it can interfere with our relationship with God, our family, friends and associates.

Let me give you an example of how I'm learning this in my life. I work in health care. I worked in a department that had a lot of employee moral issues. I let this get to me. I made a mistake, but instead of fessing up to the mistake I ignored it. Guess what...the enemy did not ignore it. They took this mistake and carried it against me for years. I felt that I had to stand up for myself...even against a Director. So, I spoke up for myself. This has led to years of harassment and missed advancements. Now, they've taken me out of my field that my degree is in, and they've put me in another department. What have I learned from this? I should have kept control. Admitted to my mistake. Controlled my mouth and let God handle things. Instead, I took things into my own hands.

Now, I know this is something that God wants me to learn. I have a feeling that I'm going to be laid off soon. I think that this is God's way of moving me out of this situation, because I've learned what I need to know. God is so good.

I've learned to accept the consequences of this. I'm hoping that this will help you to not make the mistakes that I've made. I'm also going to show you how God can turn things around. I may have made a mistake, but I have asked for forgiveness. I know that God will turn things around.

Please listen to Joyce Meyer's message to see what you get out of her message.

God bless.

If we cannot love the person whom we see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? - Mother Teresa

Pray, Faith & Spirituality Works

Hello everyone,

Have you ever wondered why your prayers aren't being answered? Have you ever felt like God has turned His back on you? Have you ever been mad at God? Do you want to understand how prayer, faith and spirituality work? Well...this is the blog that you should follow.

Times are harder than they have ever been. People are losing their homes, jobs and families. During these hard times, we see more and more people turning to God and turning away from God. Both groups of people have used prayer as a means of communicating with God.

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have to connect with God. People pray for themselves, family, friends and sometimes strangers. God loves when we come to Him. He wants us to seek Him. Matthew 7:8 says,

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

A lot of people find confusion with this verse, because they feel they have asked, seeked and knocked, but their prayers are not being answered. We all know that our time is not God's time. We've all heard that God won't give us more than we can handle. However, we question God's timing and burdens that are put upon us.

Those people who are turning to God are hoping and believing that God will see them through their hard times. What do we call this? We call this Faith. Faith is defined as:

Belief and trust in and loyalty to God (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith)

The purpose of this blog is to explore Prayer, Faith and Spirituality. My hope is to find answers to the questions we all have as we pursue a relationship with God. I will be looking at different preachers, priests and different religious areas to help us understand why prayer and faith seem to work in some situations and not work in others. I'm also hoping to show you through my life's adventures how God is guiding and blessing me. In the end, I'm hoping to increase your knowledge of prayer, faith and spirituality. I'm also hoping to help myself in this process.

God bless everyone.

Dawn