P.R.A.I.S.E
An interesting acronym that I found on Facebook from one of the links/groups I follow. A way of looking at the word praise. I forgot to put the link, but I believe it may have been from beliefnet.com. I may have added and extended the explanation of the acronym by either adding verses or explanation. Enjoy!
P-Pray continually
Luke 11:1-11
1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a] “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need,[b] 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.[c]” 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[d] 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
With praying comes asking, God wants us to ask and cast, God will always give us an answer it’s either yes, no, or wait. Most of the time He tells us to wait, and then yes or no will follow later. God won’t always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need!
R-Read the word everyday
Psalm 119:9-16
9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.
10 I have tried hard to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 I praise you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
13 I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us.
14 I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches.
15 I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.
16 I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.
In this country we are grateful we can still go to church, talk about God, host events about God such as YE and YC vs. some other countries are strict in letting the Christian faith in the homes and buildings. A church I know helps and supports and prays for a family that’s in India right now that were called to the mission field to be missionaries over there. The struggles and things they see are probably tough to tackle down without being in serious trouble for it. We are grateful to read the bible and still have Christian bookstores, CD’s, bracelets and bibles etc made. In this country we have so much advantage and things given to us that yet bibles and religion or Christian teaching is taken out of the public school system. If the government was able to do that a long time ago what else can they do or will do in future?
As the scriptures say to read our bible as much as we can and keep it in our heart, try our best to memorize it for as one day we may not have that privilege of freedom.
A-Acknowledge Jesus is Lord
Acts 2:32-41
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand 35 until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’[g] 36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” 37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[h]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
There are so many religions out there that will tell you this is the right way to heaven, or just being a good person gets you to heaven and so forth. Jesus has said He is the way, the truth and the light and the only way to heaven is believing in Him, believing He is the son of God and has equal power as God. Christianity is a relationship with Jesus himself.
I-Invest yourself in Mentoring
Proverbs 27:17
17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Proverbs 18:24
24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Both are saying to be helpful to one another, being a mentor to someone can often start up a friendship. Mentoring can also build a person up, help them out from struggles, be shown and show the right way for God. I’ve been a mentor to some kids in elementary school through a mentoring program that was started when I was in gr. 11/12. It wasn’t a Christian organization but it was still teaching and helping kids make right choices, showing good example and build them up. If any topics of God came about I’m sure it would’ve been fine to explain. Not only we can be mentors to others, but we can be mentored ourselves as I have been mentored by my leaders too, to be a leader for God and a leader for youth as God called me to do, to stand up for what is right, to stand up against the crowd, to pray for others, to listen to issues, hanging out on bright and blue days, a real friend when no one else is, etc. Jesus can be our greatest and biggest example to follow as a mentor, teacher and friend.
S-Serve and Share Your Faith
Serving – People don’t always respect a “leader” who doesn’t help them. Jesus certainly helped and served others and was undoubtedly one of the best leaders in history. He led by example. We need to serve others too.
Matthew 23:10-12 –
10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Sharing – God has the answer to life and has given us the keys. We have all the answers we will ever need for life and they are found in the Bible. We need to share this “secret” and make it one of the “worst-kept-secrets” in the world. Others need to hear, to see, to feel and to believe that there is a God who loves them. We need to share, by our actions AND our words.
Matthew 28:19-20 –
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
E-Encourage One Another Daily
We all need to encourage each other and be encouraged, but did you know that this is also a spiritual gift?
Romans 12:7-8 –
7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
We need to make an effort to include others – especially those who are shy and timid. This is Biblical!
1 Thessalonians 5:14 –
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
