During the walk I remembered King Salamão and the request he made to God (2 Chronicles 1). This scripture is wonderful - it helped me get over the "guilt" I had when I was younger, my family is not rich, but it provided me with a good education, travel and material possessions, which made me feel guilty about having all of this and the other did not – in short, it was by studying Salamão's life that I understood that God does not condemn wealth, on the contrary, He gives it so that we can bless others.
Studying the life of Solomon it is evident that the first step he took when he assumed the reign was towards God, starting his relationship with the Lord, Solomon understood that intimacy with God should be his priority and it was this attitude that pleased God .
The lesson I learned is that the greatest gift of having knowledge is to use it to understand God and His Kingdom. Solomon had in mind not earthly things, but God's promises of redemption for the people of Israel.
I can speak for myself, sometimes, I still pray futile, earthly and carnal prayers, but the good thing is that the Holy Spirit shows me and helps me redirect to deep and magnificent things that lead me to God's purpose. Every time I approach God I ask that He help me to pray in accordance with His will for my life and grant me what I can share with others, whether spiritually, financially or materially.
Donny - WOW is what I can say. I will have to say this is one of my favorite prayer walks! It is so inspiring and uplifting to me. Thank you so much dear friend. If anyone knows me by now, Jesus Christ is whom I have a relationship with. For me, gaining knowledge in reading God's word gives me the wisdom to understand what his will and/or purpose is for me. Gaining knowledge by consciously making the choice to read and immersing myself in the word and having that daily prayer time with Him is so important in helping ourselves or others in their walks of faith. Jesus is alive as you said because he rose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven later to be at God's right hand. He did this so our souls or spirit would live eternally with him. God loves us so much that he gave his only begotten son to die on that cross to forgive each one of us of our sins. He gave it freely. Ephesians 2:8-9 states the only way to heaven is through accepting Jesus Christ into your heart. You cannot earn or buy your way in. Like you said, it is a choice of free will for each of us to make.
I have had so many prayers answered in my life thus far for them to be answered by anyone else would be nonsense for me. God is the only possible one who could have done this. In fact, I would not want them to be answered by anyone else.
When you speak of knowledge, a lot of people have the knowledge of Jesus Christ from what they've read or heard, but that's in your head. Wealth or knowledge cannot be taken with you after death. It stays here for someone else to deal with. To me, you must ask Jesus into your heart to have a relationship with Him. That comes from admitting your a sinner, confess those sins before God, ask to be forgiven, repent (turn from your former way of living), and ask Jesus into your life(heart). John 3:16.
Jesus is the only one who overcame death as you said. John 16:33 is the verse that supports that.
I could go on and on as I have never been so excited to spread or share the gospel with others as I am right now. I accepted Jesus into my life when I was young, but I'm constantly growing and seeking wisdom through the reading of Bible and through prayer.
I got on a roll sharing as this prayer walk excited me that much. Donny, thank you as always for blessing us each week with these prayer walks. This one really touched my heart as I plan to take this to however and whatever God guides me to do. Right now, we'll start with the online Bible Study that starts next Tuesday. God bless you my friend and praying for you as always!
Jan 18, 2023·edited Jan 18, 2023Liked by Donny Mac
Well Donny once again you challenge and inspire me. A few weeks ago I had a revelation about God and wrote the following.
"All my life I have said that I never really had a father because my dad was in and out of Repat Hospitals for months at a time, and he died just before I turned 11. Listening and watching a video/song I had the revelation that I have always had a Father and that is God. I knew God was called Father and that he is Jesus’ father but I had never realised that he is MY Father who has been with me all throughout my life." (Sad that it took me 75.5 years to recognise this.)
Just after that I gave a talk at church about Fanny Crosby (who was blind all her life) and the fact that by the time she was 15 she could recite most of the New Testament the 5 books of Moses Many psalms and parts from the prophets. However it was not until she was 31 that she came into a saving knowledge of Jesus and God's love for her. This challenged me to think about my relationship with Jesus. Did I really know him and follow him or did I just know the scriptures about him.. I do believe that I know him and am following him but I needed to stop and take stock of my life in regards to this and here you are today asking much the same thing. Maybe I needed to hear this today so that I can keep a check on my walk with Jesus and make sure He is at the centre of my life not on the sidelines.
Thank you. Yes Fanny Crosby inspired me as well as challenged me. She didn't let her blindness hinder her in any way. As a child she would do what her friends would do, climb trees, scramble over brick walls among other pursuits.
Enjoyed your prayer walk today. Sometimes I like to go back and listen to them again to see if there is something I missed. Keep up the prayer walks for the Lord. Today is my birthday and I am 74 years young. It has been a great day and listening to your prayer walk today made it even better. In Jesus Christ. Amen.
I believe there a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge, which may also be the difference between believing in Jesus and following Him. As you said, we can know about Jesus without knowing him. Relationship indicates a two sided involvement. Jesus made a way to have a relationship with God that is not one sided. It permanently tore the veil and gave us full access to God Himself. And it's a very intimate, personal relationship that once we have it and understand it changes everything: our devotion, our priorities, our goals, our thoughts, our actions. I am trained and have head knowledge about writing. My attitude about that wasn't how God wanted me to use it and for a long time it was on a back burner - way back - until recently when he turned that head knowledge into heart knowledge and He was able to use it in my life to hopefully encourage others and point to Him. Now my gifting and knowledge are tools He can use for His purposes and not my selfish ambition. God gives great gifts but our attitudes about them and what we do with them makes all the difference in our relationship with Him. These weekly prayer walks and the responses that people leave are really thought provoking and uplifting. Thank you, Don, for doing them and continuing to challenge me and grow me.
Jan 19, 2023·edited Jan 19, 2023Liked by Donny Mac
Hi, Donny – As a retired teacher, I definitely admit that stressing the acquisition of knowledge was a major part of my job – because knowledge is the building blocks for people solving problems, “thinking outside the box.” But your Prayer Walks continually make me realize I have never had a lot of knowledge about one topic – God. I definitely have a strong relationship with him, but perhaps I need more knowledge of Him to be able to solve life's problems more easily. Thinking about that......
The one thing I’ve been struggling with lately is the interest I’ve had in “Following” celebrities, on Instagram or other platforms. I wonder what need I’ve been trying to fill? I keep getting the feeling that I am making them false idols, gods -- ones that don't really want a relationship with me. Am I replacing God with them? Thinking about that....
I look forward to reading the verses you pick each week – it gives me a creative way to gain some more knowledge. I also like the idea of reviewing “where the money went.” It’s a definite clue to one’s priorities. I’m thinking it’s important to have all this information to help focus on one's purpose in life and not on a fantasy world created on social media. Thinking about that.....
Thank you for sharing Jan. It can be frightfully easy to make an 'idol' of something or someone. especially these days with the internet and social media. I believe that God is telling you something. Be still and listen for Him. 🙂
I loved this prayer walk. I still need to listen to it again as there are a lot of thoughts popping up in my head. Hopefully I will have time to do so before the next walk !!! Many thanks Don .May God guide you and bless you 🙏❤️
Lots of deep thoughts to ponder here, Donny. I am a Jesus follower - 🙏 I believe Jesus was sent by God to earth 🌎 as a blueprint for us to follow. When we awaken to the truth of who we are - we remember that we are already seated in heavenly places with Him - we create our 'heaven on earth'. Eternal life is not something that comes after death - it is our true nature in God. We are, all of us, eternal beings, the deeper question, I believe, is where will we spend our eternity.
Donny today’s prayer walk great. When I talk to God he gives me encouragement to believing him more and more every day and myself. And to walk the path of faith so I can reach what I am looking for. Thanks again Donny.🙏🏻
Yes, My God wants a relationship with me. My God is the Lord Jesus Christ and leads me in everything I do. He is with me in every step I take. I am so blessed to be able to read, pray and study the Bible every morning before I start my day. I want to learn more about Him and to be more like Him.
During this prayer walk I was reminded in Matthew 7, vs 13-14, the Bible says "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road to destruction..." Much of my adult life I have been seeking that narrow way. Thankfully, God has answered my prayers to hang on to me, and show me where I can find others seeking the way.
John 8:58 Jesus told the pharasees and Sadducee’s “I am that I am and Matthew 19:20 the rich young ruler told Jesus he had been following God’s commandments. Jesus then said to him he should give all he owned to the poor and follow Him. I know I follow Jesus for I believe He is who He said He is. I may have a home and things but would drop anything I own at His bidding, I love people and my dog but my heart belongs to Yeshua. I seek knowing Yeshua and that beautiful relationship I have with Him. He leads me beside still waters and am thankful to be led to dear friends like you who love Yeshua too. 🙏
Donny, this prayer walk was inspiring and once again challenging me to think about my faith, and my relationship with God. When I was growing up we attend church almost every Sunday, I remember thinking how I would have to earn my way to heaven, and needed to do certain things to receive God’s love...feeling guilty when missed a church service. It wasn’t until my adult life, before I fully understood the meaning of Ephesians 4:7 “ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.” and Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. “. That was a turning point in my life and in my relationship with God, it’s when I truly started following Jesus and develop my relationship with him, which I am still working on. I truly believe God wants a relationship with me as I want a relationship with Him. That’s not to say there hasn’t been times in my life when that relationship has been tested. During those times deep in my heart I knew that God was with me, even though I didn’t realize it. Yes, I’m still working on my part of the relationship, in fact this past month has been a trying time for me, had a deep talk with a friend this week and she gave me some good insight on my challenges. As always thanks for the uplifting, and inspiring prayer walks, they have been very helpful! Blessings!
Thank you for this inspirational walk. I believe there is no better friend in my life than Jesus. Committing my time, money and adoration is my privilege and His friendship is a gift on my spiritual journey. God bless you, Donny, as you continue on your journey.
During the walk I remembered King Salamão and the request he made to God (2 Chronicles 1). This scripture is wonderful - it helped me get over the "guilt" I had when I was younger, my family is not rich, but it provided me with a good education, travel and material possessions, which made me feel guilty about having all of this and the other did not – in short, it was by studying Salamão's life that I understood that God does not condemn wealth, on the contrary, He gives it so that we can bless others.
Studying the life of Solomon it is evident that the first step he took when he assumed the reign was towards God, starting his relationship with the Lord, Solomon understood that intimacy with God should be his priority and it was this attitude that pleased God .
The lesson I learned is that the greatest gift of having knowledge is to use it to understand God and His Kingdom. Solomon had in mind not earthly things, but God's promises of redemption for the people of Israel.
I can speak for myself, sometimes, I still pray futile, earthly and carnal prayers, but the good thing is that the Holy Spirit shows me and helps me redirect to deep and magnificent things that lead me to God's purpose. Every time I approach God I ask that He help me to pray in accordance with His will for my life and grant me what I can share with others, whether spiritually, financially or materially.
Thanks for the walk and message!
Donny - WOW is what I can say. I will have to say this is one of my favorite prayer walks! It is so inspiring and uplifting to me. Thank you so much dear friend. If anyone knows me by now, Jesus Christ is whom I have a relationship with. For me, gaining knowledge in reading God's word gives me the wisdom to understand what his will and/or purpose is for me. Gaining knowledge by consciously making the choice to read and immersing myself in the word and having that daily prayer time with Him is so important in helping ourselves or others in their walks of faith. Jesus is alive as you said because he rose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven later to be at God's right hand. He did this so our souls or spirit would live eternally with him. God loves us so much that he gave his only begotten son to die on that cross to forgive each one of us of our sins. He gave it freely. Ephesians 2:8-9 states the only way to heaven is through accepting Jesus Christ into your heart. You cannot earn or buy your way in. Like you said, it is a choice of free will for each of us to make.
I have had so many prayers answered in my life thus far for them to be answered by anyone else would be nonsense for me. God is the only possible one who could have done this. In fact, I would not want them to be answered by anyone else.
When you speak of knowledge, a lot of people have the knowledge of Jesus Christ from what they've read or heard, but that's in your head. Wealth or knowledge cannot be taken with you after death. It stays here for someone else to deal with. To me, you must ask Jesus into your heart to have a relationship with Him. That comes from admitting your a sinner, confess those sins before God, ask to be forgiven, repent (turn from your former way of living), and ask Jesus into your life(heart). John 3:16.
Jesus is the only one who overcame death as you said. John 16:33 is the verse that supports that.
I could go on and on as I have never been so excited to spread or share the gospel with others as I am right now. I accepted Jesus into my life when I was young, but I'm constantly growing and seeking wisdom through the reading of Bible and through prayer.
I got on a roll sharing as this prayer walk excited me that much. Donny, thank you as always for blessing us each week with these prayer walks. This one really touched my heart as I plan to take this to however and whatever God guides me to do. Right now, we'll start with the online Bible Study that starts next Tuesday. God bless you my friend and praying for you as always!
Well Donny once again you challenge and inspire me. A few weeks ago I had a revelation about God and wrote the following.
"All my life I have said that I never really had a father because my dad was in and out of Repat Hospitals for months at a time, and he died just before I turned 11. Listening and watching a video/song I had the revelation that I have always had a Father and that is God. I knew God was called Father and that he is Jesus’ father but I had never realised that he is MY Father who has been with me all throughout my life." (Sad that it took me 75.5 years to recognise this.)
Just after that I gave a talk at church about Fanny Crosby (who was blind all her life) and the fact that by the time she was 15 she could recite most of the New Testament the 5 books of Moses Many psalms and parts from the prophets. However it was not until she was 31 that she came into a saving knowledge of Jesus and God's love for her. This challenged me to think about my relationship with Jesus. Did I really know him and follow him or did I just know the scriptures about him.. I do believe that I know him and am following him but I needed to stop and take stock of my life in regards to this and here you are today asking much the same thing. Maybe I needed to hear this today so that I can keep a check on my walk with Jesus and make sure He is at the centre of my life not on the sidelines.
Theresa, thank you for sharing. So very thankful you KNOW The Father as your Father now. 💕
The Fanny Crosby story is powerful.
Thank you. Yes Fanny Crosby inspired me as well as challenged me. She didn't let her blindness hinder her in any way. As a child she would do what her friends would do, climb trees, scramble over brick walls among other pursuits.
Enjoyed your prayer walk today. Sometimes I like to go back and listen to them again to see if there is something I missed. Keep up the prayer walks for the Lord. Today is my birthday and I am 74 years young. It has been a great day and listening to your prayer walk today made it even better. In Jesus Christ. Amen.
Happy Bday Paula. May this be your best year yet! 🙂
Thank you. It was a great day! I hope this is a great year
Happy birthday! It's your special day and I hope you really enjoyed it. God bless.
I hope you had a wonderful birthday this past week!
Thank you. Yes I did. Got taken out to eat twice and a lot of birthday wishes from family and friends. It was a great day.
Happy birthday,Paula mine is next week...75 years young.
Happy early Birthday Linda. What day next week
Happy Birthday Paula!
Thank you. It was a great day!
Congrats! 👏🌹May your new year be full of God's blessings. 🙌🎂
Thanks. Hope your year is full of God’s blessings too.
I believe there a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge, which may also be the difference between believing in Jesus and following Him. As you said, we can know about Jesus without knowing him. Relationship indicates a two sided involvement. Jesus made a way to have a relationship with God that is not one sided. It permanently tore the veil and gave us full access to God Himself. And it's a very intimate, personal relationship that once we have it and understand it changes everything: our devotion, our priorities, our goals, our thoughts, our actions. I am trained and have head knowledge about writing. My attitude about that wasn't how God wanted me to use it and for a long time it was on a back burner - way back - until recently when he turned that head knowledge into heart knowledge and He was able to use it in my life to hopefully encourage others and point to Him. Now my gifting and knowledge are tools He can use for His purposes and not my selfish ambition. God gives great gifts but our attitudes about them and what we do with them makes all the difference in our relationship with Him. These weekly prayer walks and the responses that people leave are really thought provoking and uplifting. Thank you, Don, for doing them and continuing to challenge me and grow me.
Hi, Donny – As a retired teacher, I definitely admit that stressing the acquisition of knowledge was a major part of my job – because knowledge is the building blocks for people solving problems, “thinking outside the box.” But your Prayer Walks continually make me realize I have never had a lot of knowledge about one topic – God. I definitely have a strong relationship with him, but perhaps I need more knowledge of Him to be able to solve life's problems more easily. Thinking about that......
The one thing I’ve been struggling with lately is the interest I’ve had in “Following” celebrities, on Instagram or other platforms. I wonder what need I’ve been trying to fill? I keep getting the feeling that I am making them false idols, gods -- ones that don't really want a relationship with me. Am I replacing God with them? Thinking about that....
I look forward to reading the verses you pick each week – it gives me a creative way to gain some more knowledge. I also like the idea of reviewing “where the money went.” It’s a definite clue to one’s priorities. I’m thinking it’s important to have all this information to help focus on one's purpose in life and not on a fantasy world created on social media. Thinking about that.....
Thank you for sharing Jan. It can be frightfully easy to make an 'idol' of something or someone. especially these days with the internet and social media. I believe that God is telling you something. Be still and listen for Him. 🙂
I loved this prayer walk. I still need to listen to it again as there are a lot of thoughts popping up in my head. Hopefully I will have time to do so before the next walk !!! Many thanks Don .May God guide you and bless you 🙏❤️
Lots of deep thoughts to ponder here, Donny. I am a Jesus follower - 🙏 I believe Jesus was sent by God to earth 🌎 as a blueprint for us to follow. When we awaken to the truth of who we are - we remember that we are already seated in heavenly places with Him - we create our 'heaven on earth'. Eternal life is not something that comes after death - it is our true nature in God. We are, all of us, eternal beings, the deeper question, I believe, is where will we spend our eternity.
Donny today’s prayer walk great. When I talk to God he gives me encouragement to believing him more and more every day and myself. And to walk the path of faith so I can reach what I am looking for. Thanks again Donny.🙏🏻
Yes, My God wants a relationship with me. My God is the Lord Jesus Christ and leads me in everything I do. He is with me in every step I take. I am so blessed to be able to read, pray and study the Bible every morning before I start my day. I want to learn more about Him and to be more like Him.
During this prayer walk I was reminded in Matthew 7, vs 13-14, the Bible says "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road to destruction..." Much of my adult life I have been seeking that narrow way. Thankfully, God has answered my prayers to hang on to me, and show me where I can find others seeking the way.
John 8:58 Jesus told the pharasees and Sadducee’s “I am that I am and Matthew 19:20 the rich young ruler told Jesus he had been following God’s commandments. Jesus then said to him he should give all he owned to the poor and follow Him. I know I follow Jesus for I believe He is who He said He is. I may have a home and things but would drop anything I own at His bidding, I love people and my dog but my heart belongs to Yeshua. I seek knowing Yeshua and that beautiful relationship I have with Him. He leads me beside still waters and am thankful to be led to dear friends like you who love Yeshua too. 🙏
Donny, this prayer walk was inspiring and once again challenging me to think about my faith, and my relationship with God. When I was growing up we attend church almost every Sunday, I remember thinking how I would have to earn my way to heaven, and needed to do certain things to receive God’s love...feeling guilty when missed a church service. It wasn’t until my adult life, before I fully understood the meaning of Ephesians 4:7 “ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.” and Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. “. That was a turning point in my life and in my relationship with God, it’s when I truly started following Jesus and develop my relationship with him, which I am still working on. I truly believe God wants a relationship with me as I want a relationship with Him. That’s not to say there hasn’t been times in my life when that relationship has been tested. During those times deep in my heart I knew that God was with me, even though I didn’t realize it. Yes, I’m still working on my part of the relationship, in fact this past month has been a trying time for me, had a deep talk with a friend this week and she gave me some good insight on my challenges. As always thanks for the uplifting, and inspiring prayer walks, they have been very helpful! Blessings!
Thank you Donny for a most powerful and meaningful prayer walk. This one is definitely one to watch and ponder often.
This is a question I frequently try to honestly evaluate my life with. Am I 'following' Jesus or do I ask Him to come along as I lead the way?
Am I willing to follow Him whereever He may lead? I hope so.
Everything else is meaningless.
Another question I try to frequently ask myself am I living like Jesus is my Lord, or merely as Saviour?
As we read the Living Word more often and heed it we do become more like Him.
I want to look and sound like Jesus. The other stuff in life is meaningless, really.
Thank you for your faithfulness to challenge us. May His abundant blessings continually flow into you and through you.
Thank you. It was a great day.
Thank you for this inspirational walk. I believe there is no better friend in my life than Jesus. Committing my time, money and adoration is my privilege and His friendship is a gift on my spiritual journey. God bless you, Donny, as you continue on your journey.