The Miracle of Prayer

Prayer is communication between God and His people. The Bible encourages us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We do not need a kneeling position in order to pray. We can pray throughout every activity of our day.

When we do, we find that we are communicating with God's Spirit on the best way to perform the task at hand. We walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh, and we find our self in the center of God's will all day long.

Miracles happen when we pray. Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still so the Israelites could win the battle, and God did just that. Gideon prayed for the animal skin to be wet and then dry, and God used that prayer to confirm His call on Gideon's life.

Daniel prayed and the angel Gabriel appeared in less than three minutes as an answer to that prayer. But another time Daniel prayed, and due to spiritual warfare, it took weeks before the angel was able to deliver his answer (Daniel 10:12). 

Satan attempts to hinder the answers to our prayers; but Matthew reminds us that everyone who asks receives, those who seek will find; and if we knock, God will open every door that we need in order to perform His will for our life (Matthew 7:8).

God always answers prayers, even if His answer is "wait" or "no"; and we can be assured that His answer has our best interest at heart. With faith in God's faithfulness, nothing can stop us from accomplishing God's will for our life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that when we build our life on the rock of Christ, no storm shall prevail against us. We know that even if our enemies fight against us, or if Satan turns out all the demons of hell to stop us, greater is Christ within us than the god of this world (1 John 4:4). You have a perfect plan for our life, and we flourish with success and fulfillment as we walk in Your will (Ephesians 2:10).

We may fight a formidable enemy; but You triumph in every instance by making us overcomers who enjoy the victory of a life spent in Your presence, regardless of where we live or the circumstances around us. Remind us to pray without ceasing and to stand still and wait on Your salvation (Exodus 14:13).

Thought for the Day:

Prayer is not therapy for the soul, but a connection of our spirit to the Spirit of God; prayer transcends human power, wisdom and ability and moves mountains in the spiritual world, and if necessary, in the physical world as well. 

Answers to Life's Questions

There are several questions that every human being wants answered. Who are we? Where did we come from? What are we here for? Where are we going? Scientists, philosophers and researchers spend inordinate amounts of time looking for answers.

God is the source of all of our answers. He created us as His Children, for His glory and to spend eternity with Him in His Kingdom (Galatians 3; 2 Corinthians 5; Romans 8).

Everyone who chooses to believe in Christ and His sacrifice for us on Calvary's cross finds our true identity in Him. Those who refuse to believe condemn themselves to eternal darkness (John 3:16-18).

God is constantly perfecting us by His Spirit who abides in our spirit. He takes away our desire to sin, and it no longer appeals to us. We are alive to God and we desire intimacy with Him more than the temporal pleasures of sin.

God's Spirit helps us to walk away from our weakness and addictions. He searches our heart and knows our mind and prays for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

We are Born Again by the blood of the Lamb, and God's Spirit replaces the carnal nature in our soul with the divine nature of Christ. Our eternal destination is heaven (2 Peter 1:3-4).

Jesus swallowed up death, and gave us the victory through His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54; Isaiah 25:8). What the world views as the finality of death is actually the ultimate victory for God's children.

Leaving this earth is to our benefit, because God rejoices in the death of His Saints (Romans 8:28; Psalm 116:15). In truth, there is greater advantage for us to go Home to the glory of Heaven than to continue living here on this sin-cursed earth (Philippians 1:21).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for making us a new creation in Christ, for filling our life with Your peace and joy, and for exchanging our sin for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Through His resurrection, we have assurance by Your Spirit of enjoying everlasting life with You both now and for eternity.

You rescue us from violence and deceit, because we are precious in Your sight (Psalm 72:14). Your mercy and grace are our mainstays and ground us in this life with stability and normalcy, which only You can give. We cling to Your promises and enjoy the divine nature of Christ in us (2 Peter 1:4). Continue to mold us into sanctified servants for Your Holy Kingdom.

Thought for the Day:

Accepting who we are in Christ, and why we are different from those in the world, helps us to make an eternal difference in our world.

Successful Spiritual Warfare

Prayer is our lifeline to the Trinity. We continually communicate with God in prayer through each moment of the day (Matthew 7:8). We do not need a quiet place to kneel and pray.

We pray through the storms of life, the serene times of play, the busyness of our own making and the unforeseeable issues, which life unexpectedly throws at us.

Prayer changes us, the people we pray for, the circumstances surrounding us and the spiritual principalities and powers all around us.

In chapters nine and ten, the Bible records Daniel's experience concerning answers to his prayer. One was a quick response and the other a delay of about three weeks.

In the later, when God's archangel finally broke through Satan's lines of hindrance drawn in high places to prevent the answer from being delivered, he explained all of this to Daniel in detail.

These are some of the most amazing verses in the Old Testament. It enables us to realize the spiritual warfare going on around us as a reality and an entity to take seriously.

These verses encourage us to "pray-through" in every situation and to persevere until God delivers His answer, rather than to give up after a weak attempt to petition our Deliverer.

Sometimes, our prayers are carnal and self-centered; designed too heap on our self the riches of this world (James 4:3). God does not always provide what we want, especially if He knows it is not for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Yet, at other times, Satan steps up his resistance in order to discourage us from believing in God, trusting Him with our life and walking in His order for our day.

God inspired James to tell us that if we submit to God's will and resist the devil, he has no option but to flee from our presence (James 4:7-9). This is the secret to successful spiritual warfare.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for deigning to form an intimate, personal relationship with us - the Creator with the created. You desire our continual fellowship while we live on this earth and look forward to our death when we come to abide in Your presence forever (Psalm 116:15).

Your angels rejoice when one sinner repents and crosses over from eternal death into life, adding yet another Saint to Your Kingdom (Luke 15:7). You rejoice over us with singing and You love us with an everlasting love (Zephaniah 3:17). We can barely grasp the full meaning of this relationship, which You offer to everyone ever born on this earth. 

Thought for the Day:

Most people never avail our self the opportunity to enter into this intimate union with our Creator and King, because we despise the shame of the cross and resist the opportunity to totally surrender our will to His.