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

    

 

The Death of The Saints

    

    King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season....a time to be born, a time to die...". We celebrate the births and mourn the deaths. Yet when a saint dies, we should celebrate that death, for they have been called home. Coming home after a long journey is always cause for happy times.

~It is a time of rest; of laying aside the cares of our days.

~It is a time of peace, never to know pain, sorrow, anxiety again.

~It is a time of joy; of being received into the everlasting arms of Jesus and God.

~The death of the saints is a time of temporary sorrow, grief and mourning on our part (though it may feel as if it will last forever), for we will miss them during our lifetime here, but it is with great joy that we know that we will see them again in heaven.

~Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints."

    The births that get celebrated in the kingdom of God are the new births in Christ: the adoptee into God's family through the blood of His only begotten Son, Who died on the cross to pay for our sins. For it is only through the blood that the adoption process can begin.

1. We need to believe that Jesus Christ died for us. That He conquered/overcame, death, hell and the grave when He walked out of the tomb in which He was buried.

2. We need to acknowledge our sins to God, repenting of them (turn away from them and never do them again). It's not enough to have a changed life, we need a changed heart, as well.

3. We need to ask for God's Holy Spirit to come into our lives, to make us the holy people God commands us to be. For we cannot be made holy by doing anything mere man tells us to do: it's all God.

4. We need to be baptized publicly: making a bold statement to the world that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and now He is Lord of the one who has been baptized.

5. We need to follow the lead of The Holy Spirit of God: not just reading our Bibles every day, but studying The Word, as well. Knowing that when we understand what we have been studying, we can then apply it to our lives. Without The Holy Spirit it is impossible to live a God-filled life, a changed life. A life that is lived for Jesus must have Jesus in it.

    This is how we come into God's family. This is our adoption process. We are the lineage of Abraham: children of righteousness, people of faith and trust in God. Not only are we grafted into The Vine, but we are now in God's family tree. We are the planting of The Lord, trees of righteousness.

Believe it. Receive it. Live it.

I WILL RAISE IN LIFE TRIUMPHANT

by Mary Barker Spencer

1. The tree of life’s still standing and all who will may eat.

Come and dine is still the call. The place is Jesus' feet.

The crimson cleansing fountain yet is flowing from His side.

His holiness still beckons us to heed His humble cry.

-chorus-

I will raise in life triumphant!

I will let hosannas roll!

I will drink that Living Water that shall ever flood my soul!

I will worship crying, "Holy"!

For worthy is The Lamb

Slain from the foundation of the world

Just so I can. 2. Oh grave, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?

For the God of all creation has swallowed you to bring

My life to me immortal back with Him from Calvary.

In the valley of the shadow there’s a brilliant light for me!

-chorus-

I will raise in life triumphant!

I will let hosannas roll!

I will drink that Living Water that shall ever flood my soul!

I will worship crying, "Holy"!

For worthy is The Lamb

Slain from the foundation of the world

Just so I can.

Arming The Spiritual Warrior -- Pray In The Spirit

 

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.

IN: indicates locality, position, realm of; the condition in which something operates from the inside/within; within the limits of, near, in the proximity of

Pray In The Spirit

Romans 8:26

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

So, to pray in the Spirit, is to be in the realm of the Holy Spirit. We can't be there if we are not fully equipped to be there. Our prayers will not reach God, nor will they ever make it out of the heavenly realm in which battles are fought on our behalf when we pray for ourselves and on behalf of other people when we pray for them. 

We must get our act together and be the Spiritual Warfare people God has called us to be. 

All the preceding verses in this passage of Scripture have told us how to do so. 

Praying Always 

Everywhere and at all times.

Where we pray is not necessarily in four walls and a roof. Not all places of prayer are in a building.

House of Prayer

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.

Matthew 21:13

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

In Everything Pray

Philippians 4:6

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Petitions are when we beg and plead with God to not only hear our prayers but respond to us and move on our behalf. When was the last time we begged God for anything? 

 

Perseverance In Prayer

This word Perseverance (Strong's #4342) is used only one time in the Bible and it is used here to describe the type of prayer we are to interact with God in. It means 'steadfast' which means 'to consistently show strength which prevails in spite of difficulties' and 'to endure: to remain firm in a fixed position'. How does that apply to our prayer life as a Spiritual Warrior?

We are to remain in a fixed state of prayer in the Spirit at all times. This is not as difficult to do as many may think. When we belong to Jesus Christ and He lives in us, it is through the Spirit that we are able to have that relationship. Therefore, it is through the Spirit that we must continue to seek God's face, seek out the Truth of God's Word and it is through the Spirit that we are refreshed again and again when we pray in the Spirit. 

Not all prayers are spoken aloud. Many are silent prayers as we go throughout our day. Not all prayers spoken by the Spiritual Warrior are spoken in a known language. The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings, a heaviness that cannot be uttered, an anguish that comes from the depths of the heart and reaches the throne of God. 

For All Saints

(cf Strong's #40 NT)

Saints are holy. But what does holy mean for us? To be different from the world. To take on the likeness of the nature of the Lord. To be holy is to be set apart from. Since we are different from the world, we are set apart from the way the world works. 

Who Are The Saints?

1 Peter 2:9

 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people (of the world), but are now the people of God (not of the world): which had not obtained mercy (lived under the curse), but now have obtained mercy (live under grace).  

Saints Have Obtained Mercy From God

Hosea 2:23

And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Saints are the set apart by God for God, for God's purposes, God's will, God's plan. Saints belong to God.

Daniel 7:18

But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 

The saints are the holy ones of God, simply put. And we are to pray for them, we are to pray for each other at all times in every circumstance in a fixed position with perseverance. What fixed position do we pray in? A humble one. A meek one. With the understanding that we have a purpose in life and that purpose is to seek God's kingdom according to God's will IN PRAYER, BY PRAYER.