Answered Prayer

 

In these last days of the Church Age, people are ever-learning, but never walking in the Truth of God's Word. They go to multiple conferences and Bible studies and take veracious notes, but never apply the Truth to their life.

They fill their mind, but their heart is hardened. They do not keep their focus on Jesus, but on the letter of the law; becoming legalistic and judgmental (Hebrews 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:6).

They lack a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and they do not walk in the Spirit. Knowledge is their God and focus, which puffs us up with pride (1 Corinthians 8:1). They fall apart in trials, because their faith is based on information rather than relationship.

Jesus gave us His Word, but He also gave us Himself and abides within our Born Again spirit. He gives us His peace and an eternity to worship Him in His comfort and joy as we live a life of praise to His Holy Name (John 14:27).

We are often too busy with our worldly pursuits to spend time listening to God. We are anxious and stressed because we do not have His peace to guard our heart and mind (Philippians 4:7).

When we trust in God, our mind is focused only on Him and is immovable and resting in God's peace (Isaiah 26:3). His Spirit takes up residence in our spirit and we are filled with all of His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Only a life which is totally surrendered to God's control and walking by His Spirit's direction can experience this peace in the turmoil all around us in this world.

God hears our prayers and provides us with everything we need to live Godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). He supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches, turns every trial into a blessing, and keeps us in the center of His will - the happiest place on earth (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we choose to follow hard after You, rather than pursuing the things of this life (Psalm 63:8). We come to You in repentance and enter into Your rest; in quietness and confidence in Your faithfulness we find our strength (Isaiah 30:15). We bask in Your presence as in the noonday sun, and we rest in Your warmth that envelops us with Your healing touch.

Remind us to spend quality and quantity time in prayer with quiet reflection, repentance and dedication of our time, resources and talents to Your service. We rest in Your loving, everlasting arms and hide under the shadow of Your wings. We vow to boldly walk in Your ways and to serve at Your pleasure. We thank You for Your provision, which You give to us, even before we get a chance to ask for it.

Thought for the Day:

Prayer is not our last offense, it is our first defense.

New Life in Christ

God loved us while we were still sinner; but if we do not walk away from our sinful lifestyle, then we do not belong to Him (1 John 1:9, 3:9). God demands whole-hearted commitment from His Saints (Philippians 3:8-9).

We prove our love to God by our obedience to Him and His Word (John 14:15). Once we come to Christ for salvation, His Spirit fills our spirit and soul, and we learn to walk in step with Him (Galatians 5:25).

We discard our old nature, the personality we are born with, and we put on our new nature, which God creates in us through His Spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).

God's Spirit changes us from the inside out. His divine nature and the fruit of His Spirit replace our weak human character (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5:15-25). We ask God to try us and test us and examine our heart and mind (Psalm 26:2).

We learn to walk in His truth and enjoy His love, which is always surrounding us (Psalm 26:3). We look forward to spending eternity with Him and enjoy His eternal life even now on this earth (John 17:3).

Nothing will ever separate us from God's love; not even adversity, demonic activity, earthly circumstances, personal relationships or evil people devising our demise (Romans 8:35-39).

We live, move and have our entire being in Christ (Acts 17:28). We consult God for His plans for every moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). We walk in joy and peace in the center of God's will.

Prayer:

Father God, the fact that You love us while we are still sinners helps us to realize that You desire that no one will eternally perish in the lake of fire (John 3:16-17). However, we often condemn our self by insisting that we live life our own way, instead of in Your will for us (John 3:18).

We attempt to fit You into the mold of our image for You, rather than to allow You to conform us to the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Remind us to humble our self under Your mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10), and to serve You until our dying breath (Psalm 146:2).

Thought for the Day:

When we come together as Believers, let us share what God is doing in our life, how we recently sensed His presence in our life, how His grace saw us through a particularly trying experience, what He is teaching us from His Word and what He is perfecting in our life.

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for the use of his photo.