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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
2A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JULY 5, 2017 The power of simple prayer When you pray, do you have a vague feeling that something is lacking…that there isn’t any power in your prayers? Do you strug- gle with doubt or fear, or simply lack confi dence that God even hears you at all? I used to have feelings like this and would think, “Maybe I didn’t say the right thing, or pray long enough, or my words weren’t elo- quent enough.” It was so frustrating because I didn’t want to waste time, wondering if it was doing any good. After I pray, I want to know that God is working and my prayers are making a difference. It’s easy to complicate our relationship with God and think we have to do certain things a certain way for them to be effective. But I’ve discovered that powerful, life-changing, dynamic prayer is amazingly simple! Two Things We Must Do It’s vitally important for us to have faith in God when we pray. Hebrews 11:6 (AMPC) says, “Without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].” Ask yourself, “Do I believe God hears me, that He cares about me and wants to be involved in every area of my life?” If we don’t really believe God loves us and wants to help us, we will struggle to have faith in Him. That’s why knowing and experiencing the love of God is critical to developing a powerful prayer life. It’s also important to approach God with a sincere heart. James 5:16 says, “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righ- teous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” A sincere heart is focused on God, trusting that He hears you and will answer. It doesn’t mean you have to cry or raise your voice to pray with sincerity; it’s all about the attitude of your heart toward God. You Have to Ask It’s exciting to get the revelation that God loves us, cares for us and wants to help us. But we have a part to do in getting the things God has for us—we have to ask. James 4:2 says, “…You do not have, because you do not ask.” Now, it’s important to understand that we have to ask for God’s will to be done, not just for the things we think we want or should have. James 4:1 tells us that striving to get what we want based on our carnal or fl eshly desires leads to “strife (discord and feuds)… confl icts (quarrels and fi ghtings).” This causes us to be jealous, cov- et what others have and become angry when we can’t “obtain [the gratifi cation, the contentment, and the happiness” we are seeking (James 4:2). These verses show us what causes problems in people’s lives. We think we’re unhappy because we don’t have all the stuff we want. But the reality is only God can give us what we’re longing for in our hearts. He alone is the source of righteousness, peace and joy (Ro- mans 14:17). And we will never enjoy life until we learn to abide in Him and trust Him to do what’s best for us. The Key to Praying for God’s Will If you’re not sure whether you’re asking for God’s will in your life (and we all go through times like this), then you need to take time to just abide in Christ. In John 15:7, Jesus says, “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” To abide means to live, dwell and remain; it’s not just spending time with God on Sunday morning and then going through your week doing what you want apart from Him. God wants to do life with us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sat- urday too! As we spend time studying His Word, meditating on the Word, communicating with Him through prayer, and asking Him to fulfi ll His plans for us, we will know His will in our hearts. It’s an amazing privilege to be able to talk to God! I want to en- courage you to come to Him with humility and ask Him for the de- sires that are in your heart. Tell Him, “Lord, I don’t want anything You don’t want me to have. So if this is not Your will, don’t give it to Me. I’m trusting You and want You to be in control of my life.” Pray about everything that’s on your heart and keep it simple. Re- member, prayer is simply talking to God, and you can pray anytime, anywhere, all day long…and He will answer. For more on this topic, order Joyce’s fi ve-teaching CD series Keeping It Simple. You can also contact us to receive our free mag- azine, Enjoying Everyday Life, by calling (800) 727-9673 or visit- ing www.joycemeyer.org. Ladies, join Joyce Meyer for the 35th Annual Love Life Women’s Conference September 21-23 in Saint Louis, MO. For more infor- mation, go to www.joycemeyer.org/lovelife. Joyce Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored more than 100 books, including Battlefi eld of the Mind and 20 Ways to Make Ev- ery Day Better (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations world- IN MEMORIAM Anna Westberg 1921-2017 by her husband, Axel Westberg, daughter, Karen Anna Mae Westberg, 95, of Cottage Grove passed away Jan. 18, 2017 due to age related causes. She was born June 25, 1921 in Argyle, Wisc. to Frances (De- menowski) and Jacob Stalder. She graduated from Cot- tage Grove High School. On Aug. 22, 1942 in Cot- tage Grove, she and Axel Emanuel Westberg were married. Anna Mae worked in the kitchen at the old hospital for many years. When she retired, she volunteered at Riverview Terrace every Wednesday for 25 years. She loved to work in her garden. Her gardening, canning, and cakes won many prizes at the South Lane Fair for several years. Anna Mae also decorated cakes for brides and other special occasions. Survivors include her children, Beverly Scott of Springfi eld, Cheryl Olson of Cottage Grove, and Ste- ven Westberg of Billings, Mont., 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, 21 great-great grandchildren and four great-great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death Louise Westberg, great-grandson, Ryan Bird, great- great granddaughter, Emily Ann Matthews, and her siblings, John Stalder, Albert Stalder, Jacob Stalder, and Jean (Stalder) Smith. A graveside service was held on June 23, 2017 at Fir Grove Cemetery in Cottage Grove. WILLIAM HARVEY WARD, SR 1941-2017 William “Bill” Harvey Ward, from Drain, OR passed away Wednesday, June 14th, 2017 at the age of 76 at his home surrounded by his family. Bill is survived by his daughter and three sons & families as well as numerous other siblings, friends and extended family. Our dad, Bill, will be sorely missed, remembered and loved. A celebration of life service will be held at 1:00pm, Satur- day, July 8th at the Drain Church of Christ, 401 N. 2nd St., Drain, OR 97435. A fellowship with desserts, coffee, punch and smiles (maybe a few tears) will follow. We hope you can join us as we gather together for a fi nal toast to our dad. Birch Avenue Dental Park W. McClung, DDS • Tammy L. McClung, DDS Where dentistry is our profession but people are our focus WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS! Check out our exclusive Birch Avenue Dental Program that provides all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches. For more information please call 541-942-2471 or visit us at www.birchavenuedental.com wide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer.org. 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