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5/28/2013 0 Comments Praying the Blessings  Have you ever read a promise in the Bible and wondered how it could ever come to pass in your life? You don't really believe God will do those kinds of things for us? Well, I do because THE BLESSING of Deuteronomy 28 is our blessing! It has “come upon us” through Jesus. All we have to do is connect with it like Abraham did, it will do for us what it’s always done. If we’ll fill our anointed minds with it by meditating on those verses and speaking them over ourselves until we are fully persuaded, no matter how impossible our circumstances might appear to be, that blessing belongs to us. It will do for us the same thing it once did for Adam, Eve…and Abraham…and Jesus. It will empower us to be fruitful, multiply and have dominion in every area of life. Some folks think that’s too good to be true. They claim we can never enjoy that kind of blessing on this earth. But I know we can, not only because the Bible says so but because He has proven it in my own life again and again. Some folks think that’s too good to be true. They claim we can never enjoy that kind of blessing on this earth. But I know we can, not only because the Bible says so but because He has proven it in my own life again and again and I will continually believe these promises despite what I face or am challenged with: "Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you. “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them." (Deuteronomy 28:3-12) And these promises are mine and yours if we just do the following: "If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them." (Deuteronomy 28:13-14) It's that simple. Obedience + Faith = Blessings! Enter into Intercession today to "Pray God's Blessings" over your life! Intercessory PrayerFather, I come to You in the Name of Jesus, my Lord, my Savior. I come to You with a heart of thanksgiving. I thank you for all the good things in my life, for You are the Creator of all things good. Father, I thank You for Your Presence. For in Your Presence is the fullness of my joy and in Your Presence I am complete and whole. In Your Presence I have purpose. Because of Your Presence, I am glad to be here. Father, I thank You for Your plan, that I might have a full life and enjoy it and have it in abundance to overflowing. Father, I thank You for Your provision, that all my needs are met according to Your riches in glory and that I may prosper in all areas of my life as my soul prospers. Father, I thank You for Your protection, that Your perfect love casteth out all fear and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. Father, I thank You for Your peace. The peace that passes all understanding. The peace that keeps me calm and secure through adversity. The peace that leads me through all the storms that come into my life. Father, thank You for my life and Your Presence in it.
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5/21/2013 0 Comments You can't afford to stop praying! “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). I’m sure your familiar with this verse of Scripture. You’ve read it often. You may even have it memorized. Yet, this verse seems far from daily reality, especially concerning your prayer life and mine. I’m sure, that like me, you’ve been a little bit intimidated by this verse of Scripture. It’s a powerful verse – an amazing promise. But, my prayers “avail” much? Me, a “righteous” man? It seems beyond me – out of my reach. I’ve often struggled with this verse and my prayer life. Maybe you have too. Maybe you’re discouraged in your prayer life. You pray but your praying doesn’t seem to live up to what James 5:16 says it can be. You don’t feel like your prayers avail much. Yet, God has given this promise to His people. God gives it to us to encourage us and to motivate us to pray. God’s purpose in recording this is to encourage you. He wants you to know that powerful and effective praying is not out of your reach. It’s not just for super saints. These verses take away any excuses we would have for Elijah’s success in prayer being because he was a special person or had some special power. Elijah had the same nature we have but he prayed powerfully and effectively. We can do the same. God’s purpose in recording this is to encourage you. He wants you to know that powerful and effective praying is not out of your reach. It’s not just for super saints. What kind of a person do you have to be to pray with power and effectiveness? These verses lead us to see that we must possess certain characteristics: (1) We must be righteous. How does one become righteous? We become righteous by believing God’s promise of salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. One must be accepted with God through faith in Jesus before you can pray with power and effectiveness. (2) We must strive to be righteous. Our acceptance with God is based solely on the righteousness of Christ that we receive by faith in Him. Yet, once we trust Christ, we seek to live a righteous life. We do this by confessing our sin and striving to obey God. We cannot expect God to hear and answer us (3) We must have confidence in God. The Bible tells us that Elijah prayed fervently and earnestly. Why did he pray this way? He understood that only the Lord God of Israel could do what he asked. His sense of hopelessness motivated his fervent prayers. When do we pray with power and effectiveness? It takes place when we come to the end of ourselves. It happens when our confidence is in God and God alone to answer and intervene. Plead with God to increase your confidence in Him. Ask Him to show you in Scripture and in life the truth of His sovereign power. The prayer that works, the kind of prayer that changes hopeless situations is that which is earnest, heartfelt and continued. This kind of prayer touches your emotions and your soul. It’s serious business because you desire to see a definite change. It’s direct in purpose; you’re praying fervently with a deep feeling of conviction. You tell yourself, “I’m not going to give up until I’ve seen the change I desire.” This was the kind of prayer Elijah prayed. The Bible says he prayed earnestly that it should not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit (James 5:17-18). According to the Bible, Elijah was a man subject to like passion as we are. In other words, you too can pray earnestly and turn hopeless situations around. Remember, fervent heartfelt prayer is the key to an effective prayer life and makes much of God's tremendous power available. You can't afford to stop praying. Enter into Intercession. Intercessory PrayerDear Heavenly Father! I’m grateful to know that Your eyes are always upon me and Your ears are attentive to my prayers. Therefore I’m bold and confident that I can change hopeless situations through prayer. I rejoice because every time I bow my knees to pray concerning any intuition, I receive answers to my prayers, in the Name of Jesus Christ! We are not moved by what we see, hear, smell, touch or taste. We are not moved by reason. We are only moved by Your Spirit and Your Word and we know Your Voice, and we hear Your Voice and we refuse to follow strangers according to John 10:27. Our seed is mighty upon the earth according to Psalms 112:2. Lord Jesus, I ask you to expand my territories; to fill me and increase me in the Holy Spirit and anointing with power.  Today we are interceding on behalf of our "Children". Many are concerned about the direction that our children are going and the many challenges that they face in this world. The sobering news about raising children is that we really have no ultimate control over whether our child will choose the narrow gate that leads to life or the wide gate that leads to destruction. But understanding our desperate need to depend on God is the good news. With all of the needs children have, many parents wonder if prayer is actually their greatest need. This often stems from a very common misunderstanding. As parents we fall into the trap of believing that we are the ones providing food, clothing, and shelter. We think we are the ones giving them the love and care they need, building character into their lives, and teaching them spiritual truths. While we are often used by God as the vehicle for these needs, it is always God who provides all things, and it is God who is responsible for moving in their hearts (Matthew 6:25-33). God is at work in the lives and hearts of your children. He is the One who restrains your children. God orchestrates the events in their lives, and ultimately they will come to faith only when His Spirit draws them. And prayer is the most significant form of communication that humans, specifically parents, can engage in to draw them in. When a Christian talks to God, all the power of heaven is at play, and cultures, nations, and history lay in the balance. For parents, talking to our kids is critical; talking to God about them is even more so. Ask God to equip you to believe and expect big things of him in prayer. Ask God to show you how to pray big and audacious prayers for your child. Enter into Intercession INTERCESSORY PRAYERHeavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I affirm Your Word over my child/children. I commit my child/children; to You and affirm Your Word over them from Isaiah 54:13 that tells me my children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of my children. I thank You that You deliver them out of rebellion into right relationship with us. In Exodus 20:12, Your Word teaches us that the first commandment given with a promise is to the child who obeys his/her parents in the Lord. 5/7/2013 0 Comments Control Yourself Today in The Sanctuary we will be praying for self-control. In our Friday Fellowship and Prayer Meeting we discovered to Just BE and to have a Beatitude, we must possess meekness and self-control. Many shared that this is an area of weakness in their lives. And they are not alone. Self-control is defined as, “Restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” The Bible speaks to self-control in these passage: “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Proverbs 25:28 (NIV) As believers we have a responsibilty to exercise self-control. Self-control is evidence of faith and the Holy Spirit in our lives producing this Fruit of the Spirit. The very concept of "self-control" implies a battle between a divided self. It implies that our "self" produces desires we should not satisfy but instead "control." Jesus said, we should "deny ourselves" and "take up our cross daily," and follow him. Daily our "self" produces desires that should be "denied" or "controlled." Self-control brings up everything from extreme dieting plans to over indulgence. We usually think of self-control as a negative, which is partly true. Self-control is, in part, the art of saying "no" when we should, not merely when we feel good about it. The lack of such control in our culture can be related to chemical abuse, overeating, or a host of other unhealthy behaviors. This should concern every believer, we as believers of Christ should wish to be a lighthouse of God’s grace to those who are “out of control.” Rick Warren author of Purpose Driven Life provided good tips on developing biblical self-control.
In what areas do you need to develop for self-control? The disciplines you establish today will determine your success tomorrow. If we are not training ourselves in the life of godliness and self-control, we will become trained and skilled in greed and covetousness, which is idolatry, the worship of the flesh and its appetites. Without self-control, we become the slaves to the world, the flesh, and the adversary and become incapacitated, unable to serve God and one another or even our own best interests. We end up not only serving ourselves, but we become slaves to our appetites. If we are not training ourselves in the life of godliness and self-control, we will become trained and skilled in greed and covetousness, which is idolatry, the worship of the flesh and its appetites. But it takes more than just willpower for lasting self-control. It takes a power greater than yourself. Today let's gird up the loins of our minds with Intercession Prayer so that we may walk in the fruit of the spirit, Self-Control. Intercessory PrayerDear Lord, I admit from the get go that self-control is a big issue. It is not that I am determined to do what I want to do or that I enjoy living an out of control life. I sincerely desire a life defined by willingness, not willfulness. That in itself is evidence that you are “at work in me, both to will and work for your good pleasure.” The issue is recognizing that I control who or what is in control of me – my words, my actions, my attitudes, my impact and influence in this world. That is a frightening amount of power. And the use or abuse of that power impacts more than just me. The more freedom I have, the more powerful that power becomes. |
IntercessionPrayer is the expression of man’s dependence upon God and his confidence in Him. When God answers prayer, He magnifies His faithfulness. Prayer is releasing the energies of God and asking God to do what we cannot do. Prayer is the breathing and panting of the Spirit after God. Prayer is a soul struggle. It is the hardest work God has given His children, but it is their most important work. If you have a Archives
August 2015
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