Prayer Cards - Prayers of The Saints

 

Revelation 5:8

When He had taken the scroll,

 the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders

fell down before The Lamb. 
Each one had a harp, 

and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,

which are the prayers of the saints. 

    So much going on in this verse, but we are centralizing today's study on the last five words: the prayers of the saints. With that thought in mind let us first see what denotes a saint. We cannot use the dictionary for this, as it is opposed to what a saint is according to the Bible/Scriptures. 

    Strong's Exhaustive Concordance describes "saint" as: unlike any other, different (distinguished/distinct), likeness of nature with The Lord because [it means] different from the world, set apart (for God)

    Are saints only in the New Testament? No. Saints are mentioned in the Old Testament, as well. Here in Daniel 7:18 "saints" refers to "the holy ones (of God)", they who are set apart for God's purpose because they have chosen to believe in and obey The God of Israel, Almighty God. Following this definition there were many saints spoken of in the Old Testament. This verse is Psalms tells us best:    

    Psalm 64:10  The righteous shall be glad in The LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory (exult).

    ~The people whom God has chosen for His own are not always saints. Too many times people reject God as their God. They refuse to obey His Will, will not acknowledge His Word and rebel against His Spirit. They set up their own gods (idols) to worship and pray to. They bring their gifts and offerings to empty nothingness and their prayers will not be heard by The True God, The Living God.~

    God chose to send His only Begotten Son into the world to save the world, the whole world not just parts of it. But we need to choose Him back. It is not enough to say, 'I believe in God', we must also choose to be obedient to His Word and listen to His Holy Spirit, Who will lead us on the path of holiness and transform us into levels of holiness until we meet God face to face. It's not an easy life path to walk, but it's definitely worth the effort. 

    John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in The Name of the only begotten Son of God." 

    -The saints of The Most High reject evil, and love The Lord - Psalm 97:10

    -The holy ones sit at His feet and receive His Word - Deuteronomy 33:3

    -The blessed of The Father will inherit a kingdom He has prepared - Matthew 25:34

    -The blameless have an inheritance that will last forever - Psalm 37:18

    -A kingdom and priests who serve God - Revelation 5:10

    -Priests of God and Christ over whom the second death 

    has no power - Revelation 20:6

    -Sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus - Galatians 3:26

    What are prayers? A subject we speak of almost everyday. Forty-seven days and counting so far. We have learned thus far that prayers are our vital source of communication with our God. We commune with Him. 

    Psalm 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. (KJV) 

    Other versions translate this word 'commune' as: search my soul (NLT), mused (BSB), with my heart I conversed (BLB), meditate in my heart (ESV), think very carefully (NET Bible), consider in my heart (New Heart English Bible). 

    When we pray to our God, we don't always use words. In fact, it isn't always just us speaking to God from deep within in our hearts: His Spirit within us reaches out to the heart of God in His own voice. Romans 8:26 'In the same way, The Spirit helps us in our weakness (infirmities). For we do not know how we ought to pray, but The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.' 

    The prayers of the saints are the prayers that have reached God's hearing, gotten His attention and are motivated by the love of God within us. We desire to see His kingdom come. We long to see our families, our friends, and our communities filled with the knowledge of saving grace through faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. 

    Our prayers move mountains, obstacles we sometimes see as impassable, but know and believe that our Lord will move for us through our faith in Him. That mustard seed faith that makes mountains move from one place to another (Matthew 17:20); that causes mountains to be wet and sunken under water (Mark 11:23). 

    Our prayers are constant (1 Thessalonians 5:17). From our waking to our resting, our hearts and our minds are focused on interceding for everyone. These prayers are not just for people we know, but people we don't know. We pray that the gospel message is delivered everywhere, that all may know The Name by which all men must be saved. 

    I am a saint. And I'm praying for you. 

NOT IN A HURRY - Will Reagan/United Pursuit

    

 

Prayer Cards - Urgent Prayer

 1 Timothy 2:1
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone.

   Prayer is an earnest, sincere desire to communicate with God. It's not about satisfying a greedy, licentious heart -- which said prayer could never reach God's ears -- but a wholeheartedly in love with our heavenly Father communication. Seeking His perfect will in every situation in which we have placed. 
    Here Paul is urging Timothy, and us, to urgently approach God with our petitions (deep personal needs), our prayers (faith-filled conversations rooted in faith that God will not only hear us, but answer us); our intercessions (interventions that align our hearts with God's perfect will), and thanksgiving (gratitude for God's grace and His many blessings which He bestows on us; worship and adoration for Who God Is). 
     And when we approach God to tell Him all of our deep personal needs and requests, it is not just for ourselves we are praying, it is for everyone. Not just our families, not just our friends, not just our acquaintances.
   But we pray for the strangers in our communities, for the enemy at our gates, for lost, the lonely, the grieving. We pray for our city's leadership, our county leadership, our state leadership, our country's leadership. We pray for lawmakers and law enforcers. We pray for doctors and nurses and emts. We pray for the people who have wronged us, for people we have wronged. 
   We pray for their salvation, the most urgent prayer request of them all. We pray Ephesians 3 over all of the people I have listed and any I may have inadvertently omitted. 
   What Scriptures or verse(s) do you use specifically when you pray the Scriptures? 

Statement of Faith

Matthew 10:28 Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

We who are the body of Christ have nothing to fear from any man, neither their words nor their actions against us should have any effect on us. We are Christ's body and He is our Head; therefore, we have a sound mind. He lives in us, His heart beats in our hearts, His love flows through veins. In Him we live and move and have our being; for without Him we are nothing: with Him we are every thing.

We who are the body of Christ rally around our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being tortured and killed for His Name's sake. We lift them up in prayer, not just for safety in their different countries, but for the strength of their testimony and witness. We pray for their captors' and tormentors' salvation, for that is the prayer they pray. 

We pray as one for all. For all who have yet to believe that our God is real. That our God is loving and merciful to all. For this we pray. God listens to our prayers. And answers us, as He answered all other prayers before us. Many of us received second, third, fourth, fifth....countless chances, opportunities to turn back to Christ, to turn to God, and let Him fix us, let Him save us. We pray that the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf be opened to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

We pray that our actions and our words are His mirror image, and not a desire of our own reflections. We pray for His strength to be manifested among us and in us; the strength to live a bold and faithful life in this wilderness we call home. We are lions among jackals and hyenas. We rise up and roar our battle cry across the globe: we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.