Warrior of The Word - Waging War

 

2 Corinthians 10:3

For though we live in the flesh, 

we do not wage war according to the flesh.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in The Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

    We wage war with our prayers and with our worship to The Living God, Who is The Creator of All Things, Who is The Father of The Only Begotten Son; Who is our heavenly Father, Whom we can approach freely and frequently through The Son Jesus Christ.

    We wage war on our knees, with our tears and our hearts. But we do not wage war alone. When we begin to pray earnestly, God hears the first urgent breath before the words are ever spoken, if there are words to speak.

    We wage war together, when we pray with each other and for each other. Even if we do not know one another in this life, in Christ we are known, for we are His body. From the cellular structure inside to the outer appearance, we are the body of Christ, and we all need prayer to continue the work which God has given to each one of us. 

    We wage war when we speak with the authority which Christ has within us, when we declare triumph over injury, over sickness, over death. We pray that The Lord God bind our winds, heal our diseases and raise our dead to the advancement of His kingdom and for His glory, honor and praise. 

    We wage war when we pray for those who are dying without first believing and knowing Him. We pray for our missionaries who are willing to go to foreign nations to share the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ; even sharing with those who hate them for speaking The Name of Jesus. 

    We wage war when we pray for our church leaders. We pray for them to be Holy Spirit filled men and women of God. We pray for them to lead faithful and faith-filled lives that they would continue to lead God's churches in the way He would have them to lead. Our churches do not need to be bigger: they need to be fuller, so full that they spill into the streets, the byways, the highways and the alleys. 

    We wage war against spiritual darkness. We pray against witchcraft. We pray against star-sun-moon worship. We pray against tarot. We pray against fortune telling, psychics and the all-seeing eye. We pray against vengeance and bitterness. We pray against lust on every level. We pray against prideful hearts. Whomever we are praying for specifically, we pray against whatever is taking them away from knowing and believing and living The Lord Jesus Christ.

    We pray against anything that is not of God and The Lord Jesus Christ with the full knowledge that we are entering the arena of darkness with a quiver full of Holy Spirit power (arrows) and Word of God knowledge (bow). 

    We do not wage war lightly, for war of any kind is fraught with danger. One little setback could become a retreat. But we will not retreat. We will pray. 

    Let us pray even now for The Spirit of The Living God to have His way in us and in the people we are praying for. 

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 - Houses of Prayer

 Luke 19:46
Saying to them, "It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves."

Where It Is Written
Isaiah 56:7
"I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

A Den of Robbers
Jeremiah 7:11
"Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I, too, have seen it," declares The LORD.

A New Name
    While the reference here is to the temple with hands, we also know that we are the temple built without hands. Therefore, this verse in Luke refers to the believer, as well.
        2 Chronicles 7:16 "For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time."
        1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT) Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of The Holy Spirit, Who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
        Isaiah 62:2
Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of The LORD will bestow.
        Revelation 3:12
The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write The Name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.
    Honor to God was not being given in either instance. We are houses of prayer, lively stones praising God and praying to God. Our voices reach His ears. Our actions are seen by His eyes. Our thoughts are known by His mind. There is no need for God to look down from heaven, because God lives in His people; He lives in our praises to Him.
    In our church buildings we are to come together to give our worship to Him with our praises and testimonies. We are come into together to receive from Him The Word which He has prepared for us on that day.
    In our hearts, and our lives, we are to do the same. We give Him praise and worship. We testify of God's amazing mercies and grace in our lives to anyone who will listen. We read our Bibles and study out, searching for the Truth, knowing God will reveal Himself to us in it. We pray that God manifests Himself in us through all of it, as His glory filled the temples of old, may He fill these temples, these vessels of mercy, even now.
    May we, indeed, be God's houses of prayer, bearing His Name.

HOUSE OF PRAYER - Eddie James

WHEN I KNEEL TO PRAY - ElenAmor

Prayer Cards - Unceasingly For Spiritual Growth

 

Colossians 1:9

For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it,

do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you

might be filled with the knowledge of His will

in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

    In the beginning of this book Paul is writing to the young church in Colosse, which is being built by Epaphras, commending them for the good report he has received of them. The 'we' refers to Timothy, who traveled and ministered with Paul while he was in Roman custody. 

    Though Paul had never met the saints in Colosse, their reputation as faithful servants of Christ, reached his ears. Even as he writes to encourage them in their fruitfulness, he also tells them how he and Timothy are praying for them:

    *Unceasingly

    *Filled with the knowledge of His will

        >In all wisdom 

        >Spiritual understanding

    Are we praying for each other in this way?  Unceasingly. Always. Without end.  Watchful. Alert to danger.

    Are we encouraging saints we have never met, and may never meet, to grow in wisdom and spiritual understanding? 

    Paul praises them for their obvious belief in God and the evidence of said belief in God: faith, hope and love, which are the hallmarks of any born-again Christian. For their faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives and souls. 

    For their abounding love to all saints, not just the ones they know. For the love they show to the people around them, who are not saints, yet are being shown the true love of Christ by the Colosse church. [John 13:34 {agape}]. It is a mark of the grace of God that we are able to love the people around us, even if they are not Christians. For God loved the world, even when the world did not love Him back. [John 3:16-18] 

    For the hope they profess to others regarding the gospel of salvation. [Titus 2:3]. It is our faith in Christ, and our love for saints everywhere, that keeps our focus on our hope of heaven.  

    And then, he lets them know that he and Timothy are praying for them. Such encouragement! Someone they knew of but did not know personally was praying for them unceasingly! That's empowering to the soul of the saint. 

    But then he writes that he is praying that they would become more fruitful. First, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Even now every saint must first be filled with the knowledge of God's will so that we can obey God's will. The Word of God never changes, but the transforming power of God's Spirit will change us if we let Him, if we know God's will for us. [2 Peter 3:18].

    Secondly, Paul and Timothy are praying that this church would be filled with spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. This is vital to a saint's spiritual growth. It is not enough to know The Word, for many false prophets can quote Scripture but they speak it to their advantage, not to the increase of the kingdom of God. There are Biblical scholars who claim to know 'secrets' hidden The Word that cannot be revealed to those who do not believe as they believe. 

    Spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding are not spirituality; spirituality has nothing to do with God or Christ Jesus or The Holy Spirit. Spirituality is evil and against God and His Administration. Spiritual wisdom and understanding are sought after by God's saints to increase God's kingdom. 

    Spiritual wisdom is discernment: having a God-given knowledge about who is telling the Truth and who is not; who is a faithful servant of Christ and who is not; what is Truth and what is not. [Proverbs 4:5-7; 2:10-11; Ephesians 1:17] 

    Spiritual understanding is a working knowledge of The Word of God. [Colossians 2:2-3]. It is a basic building block of a Christian's faith. We can memorize Scripture but unless we put what we are learning into action, it is just a block of information we keep sequestered in our memory bank. 

    We should desire, as Paul did, for all Christians, all saints, everywhere to be filled with Spirit-filled knowledge, Spirit-filled wisdom and Spirit-filled understanding. Let us pray for that to be fulfilled in us and in each other, unceasingly. 

LET US PRAY - Steven Curtis Chapman 

Prayer Cards - Persistence

 

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope,

patient in affliction,

persistent in prayer.

    Persistence in prayer is not an uncommon happening in Scripture. Throughout the New Testament, we are encouraged to approach God faithfully, believing that He not only will answer our prayers, but that He already has. 

    According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, persistence means:

• to be earnest towards
• to persevere, be constantly diligent (to a thing)
• to attend assiduously all the exercises (in a place)
• to adhere closely to [as a servitor] (to a person)

    Earnest: resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction; serious-minded

    Persevere: persist, continue, carry on; continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success

    Diligent: steady, earnest and energetic effort; painstakingly

    Assiduously: with great care and attention to detail

    Adhere: stick fast to; believe in and follow the practices of; represent truthfully and in detail; cling to; hold fast; bond with, to

 

    Persistent prayer is when we are more than thankful for our many blessings. It is praying to God even in the face of danger (Daniel). It is more than an obligation, it is a loving  communication between God and us. God loves to be asked: He will not barge in where He is not wanted. 

    Revelation 3:20 God knocks on the door of our hearts and waits to be let in

    Acts 1:14 pray in one accord [with one mind, united in thought]

    Acts 6:4 give ourselves continually to prayer

   1 Corinthians 15:58 be steadfast and immovable

    Colossians 4:2 continue [earnestly] in prayer, being watchful and thankful

  Let us join together in the unity of The Spirit and pray, that God's perfect will be accomplished in each of us and in His church. 

Prayer Cards - Devoted Prayer

 

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

    Be constantly diligent; be aware and alert to the need for constant communication with our heavenly Father, especially on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are out on the mission field. As Paul states in the next verse, "as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for The Word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains."

    Devote also means, 'to persevere', which in turn means we are to move forward despite setbacks and obstacles. Keep on praying regardless of who tells you not to. We can pray silently when we are surrounded by people who are offended by our prayers. When we live in a state of prayer, it is just as important to us as the air we breathe.

    Here Paul is writing to a group of Christians, so he addresses all to continue in prayer together, not just one-on-one prayer with God, but praying in the unity of The Spirit, under His lead and in His power.

    Be alert to the needs of the church as a whole. Be alert to the individual needs of each of us who makeup the church. Be alert to the approach of the enemy at the gate. Be alert to the wolves in sheep's clothing who have infiltrated the church's doors, whose words and actions do not align themselves with the whole Word of God.

    Thank God for the integrity and honest principles of the faithful leaderships which God has placed within your local church and all over the world. Thank God for your salvation and for keeping you. Thank God for Who He Is: for loving us, saving us, protecting us, leading us: "For His mercy endures forever." 

Prayer Cards - Pray For My Boldness

 Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth, 

words may be given me 

so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel.

BOLDLY GO

Matthew 10:19, 20

But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but The Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH

Acts 4:29-31

"And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your Word with complete boldness, as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke The Word of God boldly.

STRONG IN THE LORD

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, my brethren, be strong in The Lord and in the power of His might.

Colossians 3:1, 2

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

    The Holy Spirit of God can only draw out of God's people what we have placed in our hearts and minds. Our human bodies are frail, and while we remember but a part of what we read and study in the Scriptures, The Holy Spirit remembers everything.

    There are no good reasons or excuses for not reading our Bibles. The Word of God is precious, whether we hold the written Word in our hands or the spoken Word in our mouths. But even more so, The Word of God in our hearts is the most valuable to the believer, the faithful child of God.

    We are wells of Living Water, cisterns filled with The Living Word of God, if we have The Word of God in us. Now is not the time to back down, nor cease from, devouring as much of God's Word as we can take in. In the morning when we rise and awaken, The Word should be read or heard. In the evening as we prepare to rest, The Word should be taken in by eye or by ear. The Spirit will do the rest.

    The day is coming, and even now is at our doorstep, and near our families and friends, when owning a Bible will be against the law, even here in America. In-home prayer groups are being fought against by local governments in American cities and towns. Are you ready to stand up and be counted for your faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ? 

GIVE ME JESUS - Fernando Ortega
STAND UP FOR JESUS - classic hymn sung by Fountain View Christian Academy

THE LORD WEIGHETH - Evermore Collective (my newest fave group)

Prayer Cards - Cry Out to The Lord

 

Psalm 142:1-2

I cry aloud to The LORD; 

I lift my voice to The LORD for mercy. 

I pour out my complaint before Him; 

I reveal my trouble to Him.

        Cry Aloud: Call out, announce audibly

        Lift My Voice: Wail, speak in anguish

        Pour Out My Complaint: Weeping, crying out to God in sorrow and lament

    Here the psalmist is unburdening himself to His God knowing that God will receive His prayer and act on the display of faith given to Him.

    The Lord is our Comforter in times of trouble, our Healer and Mender of brokenness. Whether our hearts are breaking from within (our own self-inflicted sorrow) or without (other people afflicting us). Broken hearts, broken homes, broken relationships: The Lord can heal the broken and the one who broke the broken.

    Are we fully unburdening ourselves to our heavenly Father? Are we emptying ourselves at the throne of grace and glory? Are we coming to God in humility and weakness, acknowledging Who He Is and knowing what He can do? Do we speak prayers everyone can hear or speaking what only God can hear?

    Are we the psalmist (Psalm 1), the Pharisee or the tax collector {Luke 18:9-14) when we pray? It is a question we must ask ourselves and allow the answer to be given and acted upon.

     Who is voicing the words of my heart? I am. You are. No one else can speak the anguish that is in the heart but the one who feels the pain and suffering of the heart. And to Whom are we speaking? To God, to our heavenly Father. No one else can help us. No one else can hear our hearts. No man, no woman, no idol, no icon, no saint. 

    No person on earth can forgive sins against God: only God can forgive the sins we have committed against Him. Only God can forgive us and wash us clean through the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. There's no other way to be forgiven by God. We must come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord to receive forgiveness for our sins. 

    Can I forgive you when you have wronged another person? No. Only that person can forgive you. Can I answer the deep cries of your heart, the unspoken cries? No. Only God can do that. Only God knows our hearts. Only God sees what is inside our hearts. Only God knows our thoughts, too. 

    We must be the psalmist and the tax collector when we pray. Knowing there is not only a God, but one GOD, one Father, we can come to with our hopes and dreams, heartaches and sorrows, questions and ponderings. Cry out to The LORD and He will hear you. Cry out to Jesus. Don't wait. 

CRY OUT TO JESUS - Third Day

CALL ON JESUS - Nicole C. Mullens 

TALKING TO JESUS - Elevation Worship & Maverick City

JUST A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS - Redeemed Quartet

Prayer Cards - All Night Prayer

 

Luke 6:12

And it came to pass in those days 

that He went out to the mountain to pray, 

and He was spending the night in prayer to God.

    Have you ever found yourself among people who want to hurt you or destroy your ministry? You're not alone. Jesus was healing people and feeding His disciples on the Sabbath, during a time when it was forbidden to do such things on the Sabbath. Thus began the determination by those who hated Him and what He was doing to get rid of Him.

    Knowing this, and knowing why He came to us in the first place, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer with His heavenly Father. Pouring into and being poured into. He didn't sleep, but He didn't need to. Spending hours in prayer with God is restful in itself, for we are with our heavenly Father and He is our Rest. 

    Look at what Jesus accomplished after one night spent in prayer:

~Luke 6:13-16 He assigned twelve of His disciples to be apostles (church builders)

~Luke 6:17-19 He was surrounded by a 'large crowd of His disciples', by people from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon: they had come to hear Him, be healed by Him and receive deliverance from Him 

~Luke 6:20-23 He gave His disciples a personal message: what we call The Beatitudes 

~Luke 6:24-26 He spoke a warning to the hearers that had grown comfortable in their lifestyles, to the satisfied, to the mockers and the flatterers

~Luke 6:27-26 He spoke of loving our enemies, sharing what we have with those who have nothing, giving more than, treating other people the way we want to be treated; love our enemies unconditionally, without putting demands upon them; showing mercy where none is expected because God has shown us mercy

~Luke 6:37-42 He spoke of not having a judgmental attitude towards people; to not condemn anyone for their sins but to help them 

~Luke 6:43-45 He spoke of knowing our hearts, that what is in a person's heart is shown by a person's actions and words

~Luke 6:46-49 He speaks of building our lives on the Rock solid foundation, that anything less will surely fall, fail

    All of this Jesus spake after one whole night in prayer with His Father. The boldness of The Word of God is always graced with Mercy and woven in Love. 

    Let us, too, be faithful in our communications with our heavenly Father. Let us come to Him with our problems, our struggles, our desire to spend time with Him. As Paul writes, "Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we might obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Maranatha Praise 1

Prayer Cards - Steadfast, Watchful Prayer

 

Colossians 4:2

Continue steadfastly in prayer, 

being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 

    We need to pay attention to what is happening around us, especially when we are praying. We cannot pretend to ignore the changes in our world and expect God to move on our behalf or someone else's. How can we pray effectively for those in authority over us, if we do not love them with the love of Christ in us first? We cannot. 

    Can we pray for each other even if we're not sure we like each other? Yes. Because God will change the heart of the one praying before He begins to change the one being prayed for. Our hearts have to be right with God; filled with His Son, His Spirit and His Amazing Love. We are all made in God's image and we need to remember that God loves all of us and died for all of us. Therefore, each of us is precious to Him. Let us remember that when we pray. 

    We must choose wisely which music we put on to worship to as we enter God's courtyard. Not every "worship" video or playlist is Christ-centric. When we listen to The Spirit of God, we learn to discern what is proper and what is not. There's a lot of fakes out there. 

    Have we set up our walls and gates for a proper sanctuary to meet God in? Some folks have a personal space to pray in, like the prayer closet. For some the closet is wherever they are sitting or laying, yet the walls and gates must still be in place that no outside interference can intrude on our times alone with our God. 

    Steadfast prayer is continuous prayer. It is to be in constant communication with our heavenly Father. And, yes, we can call God our Father because as His adopted children, He is, indeed, our Father. (Galatians 4:6)

Ephesians 6:18 "Pray in The Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints." 

    Soon and very soon, our heavenly Father will send His only begotten Son to come and collect His bride and bring her to heaven. But God's people need to be ready for that day to come. Stop playing church and start being the church. Be the people of God in Truth, not just pretension. Christians, the born again through faith in Christ Jesus as Lord, are the church. 

    Your heritage does not make you a Christian. Your denomination does not make you a Christian. Your vain and empty traditions do not make you a Christian. What makes us Christians is our obedience to God's Word. It is how closely we follow Christ that determines whether or not we are Christians; whether or not we are His beloved church. Remember, Judas followed Jesus, too, but not very closely and not all the way. 

    Matthew 24:42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come."

    O Lord, make us ready to receive You. Make us ready for your return. Make us perfect according to Your Word. Make us holy and get us ready to be in Your eternal presence. Continue to have Your Way in us, in the deepest reaches of our hearts, that we may be more than ever intertwined in each other and in You. You weave us into Your heart and we are made stronger each day that goes by. 

    You are our Strength, our Peace, our Healer. You are our God, our Father, our Maker. You are Mercy, Grace, Joy and Love. Such Love we cannot even begin to comprehend, but which we are so very grateful and thankful for. 

    We lift up our voices together in Your praise, bringing You glory and honor with our hearts and our tongues. Be glorified, O Lord our God and our Savior. 

In Jesus' Precious Name,

Amen. 

    Luke 21:36 "So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before The Son of Man.”

Book of Ephesians in Folk

 

Prayer Cards - Prayer Closet

 

Prayer is not a public spectacle. 

Nor do we need flowery phrases

 and loud speaking voices. 
God is not deaf: He can hear our hearts speaking

 even when our tongues cannot carry words. 

God knows what we are thinking, that's why our thoughts 

need to focus on Him and His ways. 

Psalm 94:11 "..The Lord knows the thoughts of man.."

Philippians 4:8 "...think on these things.."

Jeremiah 17:10 "I, The LORD, search the heart;

 I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, 

by what his deeds deserve."

Our hearts, our thoughts and our actions need to line up 

alongside God's Word, with God's Spirit

leading us and guiding our steps, 

whether in our minds (the unseen actions),

or in our hearts (the emotional actions),

or in our daily actions/activities (the seen actions). 

Luke 11:1-4 is an example of how to pray.

  First to acknowledge Him, that He is Holy; 

that His kingdom - His Way of Life and Living -

and His Will is more important than ours. 

We pray for daily bread. Not just that food 

would be on our tables and in our bellies, 

but that The Bread of Life would be ours daily.

Which means we need to be ready to receive

what God is going to give us in His Word. 

We pray for forgiveness of our sins,

and ask God to forgive the people who have sinned against us.

We pray for the power to overcome temptation, 

that we might be delivered from evil:

evil thoughts, evil actions. 

We need the power of God's Holy Spirit 

residing in us, transforming desires of the flesh

into desires of The Spirit. A hunger for holiness

should be rising up within us. A desire 

to live a righteous and holy life/lifestyle

in accordance with God's Holy Word. 

    Only then can we begin to pray in earnest, 

in our prayer closets, for the things which lay heaviest on our hearts:

 the salvation of those who still do not know Jesus Christ 

as their personal Lord and Savior. 
We pray for healing on those who suffer.

We pray for strength of mind, body and spirit 

for those who wander; who are distressed and discouraged;

for those who are mentally unsound or drained. 

We pray for workers to be added to God's Kingdom:

planters, waterers, and reapers

of God's Word. 

We pray for whatever The Holy Spirit has laid on our hearts to pray for. 

We pray for you who read this.

And we close out our prayers in The Name of Jesus, 

because The Word of God tells us:

John 14:13 

"And whatever you ask in My Name, 

that I will do, that The Father may be glorified in The Son."

AMEN 

The Inspired Box - May 2

 

PSALM 27:1

The LORD is The Strength of my life:

of whom shall I be afraid? 

    We are to be bold as lions when we testify of God's amazing grace on our lives (Proverbs 28:1). Though we are like sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16), we are to be shrewd/wise/sensible/cunning (strategic thinking) as serpents and innocent/sincere/blameless/unsophisticated as doves. On a side note, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance describes sheep as "easily led, forward walking". 

    When we follow our Shepherd faithfully, it is entirely possible to be not only a sheep in His flock, His pasture, but also a lion following The LION OF JUDAH (Revelation 5:5). When Christ spoke to the crowds surrounding Him, He told them He could only speak what His Father was speaking. When we hear Him speak to us, we hear our Father speaking His Word over us and into us. This is our STRENGTH. What, indeed, do we have to fear from anyone? 

    Since we see that God's people are likened to sheep, we also see that the places we will go when we speak God's Word into the ears of those who hear us, will be the territories of they who will try to kill us, for that is what wolves do:they are predatory and viciously attack when least expected. Our weapon in overcoming these wolves are the same as David's: his faith in God to give him strength to defend his position and his flock.  Sometimes the wolves will be allowed to win and overcome the Christian, at other times The Word of God will cause the wolves to cower and slink away. Psalm 27:2. 

    Let us kneel before God in the privacy of our prayer closets/war rooms and find strength in His presence, seeking only to be with Him in His kingdom. And in these times of prayer with our God, let us also pray to be filled with His Light, His Word and His Spirit that we may truly walk as lions in a world filled with wolves. 

THIS IS THE AIR I BREATHE - Michael W. Smith 

CONSUMING FIRE - Hillsong