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. 

Moving Toward Perfection

 

There is a penchant in humanity to take things to the extreme. Many in our society will make desperate attempts to gain more intimacy with God to the point of neglecting their duties to family and society.

They will cloister their self from life and spend their time in their prayer closet, reading God’s Word and listening to sermons. In an attempt at holiness, they desert all aspiration to give or to receive with anyone other than God.

Yet, in doing this they prevent God from using them to reach the lost and dying world around us. A balance of devotional prayer and obedience is what God calls for from His Saints, until the day that He returns to claim His Bride for His own.

Then He will take us home to be with Him for eternity. Our current position in Christ allows us to see life from God’s perspective and to choose our words and actions according to the will of God.

In this way, we are always moving toward perfection, which is the prize of the high calling of God (Matthew 5:48; Philippians 3:14). Carrying on throughout our day, we pray without ceasing each moment in order to remain in His will (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Jesus taught the disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13) touching on these major points:

1.) Praising God's majesty

2.) Anticipating the coming of His Kingdom

3.) Requesting our needs to be met

4.) Repenting of our sins

5.) Forgiving those who sin against us

As we live in a place of communion with God during every waking moment, we have so much assurance of His love for us that we are able to rejoice regardless of the circumstance surrounding us (Romans 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, as we walk in Your Spirit, we give thanks for everything that happens to us - the good, the bad and the ugly, because we know this is Your will and You always work out all things for our ultimate good (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17; Romans 8:28).

We rejoice and give You praise and thanksgiving for Your eternal care for everything that concerns us. We could never, ever repay You for Your personal love and care for each one of us. Thank You for taking a personal interest in our life and for providing for all of our needs.

Thought for the Day:

As we gather around the throne of Heaven, there will be a great innumerable multitude from every single nation, tribe, people and language group all standing there with us in worship and thanksgiving before our redeeming Lamb. 

- Revelation 7:9

No Longer a Sinner - Changed into His Glory

We are not only in Christ positionally, but we are in Christ practically and experientially as well. We are set free now from the bondage to the flesh that Paul describes in Romans 7.

We do not have to wait to go to heaven in order to walk in the freedom from sin that Paul found through the power of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ; because at salvation, this law sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). We enjoy this freedom now, not just in eternity. The veil is removed from our eyes at salvation, and we see and reflect the glory of the Lord as we walk in the Spirit.

God's Spirit makes us more like Jesus every day as we mature spiritually, pray without ceasing and walk continually in obedience to the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We are predestined to be conformed the His image (Romans 8:29). We no longer allow Satan to squeeze us into the mold of this world, but are transformed by renewing our mind by the washing of the water of the Word (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 5:26).

If we sin, we break God's heart; and we would never want to break the heart of the One who loved us enough to die for us. Therefore, we make no provision for our flesh and the flesh loses its desire to sin (Romans 13:14).

As we used to live in the image of the world and the flesh, we now live like Christ, in the image of the spiritual man (1 Corinthians 15:49). The old flesh died, and we are now a new creature in Christ (Colossians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24).

We are renewed in the knowledge of Christ who dwells within us (Colossians 3:10). Jesus gave us the glory, which our Father gave to Him; so that we may live in union with the Father and the Son (John 17:22). We are filled with Him through our entire being (Ephesians 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, You created us in the image of Jesus and gave us His divine nature by Your Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). We are no longer sinners, but Saints who are free to walk in the fruit of Your Spirit and to choose life rather than sin and death. Do not allow us to fall under the lie of Satan that we will never be free from sin on this side of heaven.

Remind us that Christ in all of His divinity abides within us and we have His nature now as our own. A nature that is free from the power and the practice of sin as we walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of that old, dead carnal nature (Galatians 2:20, 5:15-25).

Thought for the Day:

We are already crucified and risen with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us; and the life which we now live in this mortal body is accomplished through the faith of Christ in us. - Galatians 2:20

Pray without Ceasing

By repenting of our sinful lifestyle and believing in Christ as our Savior, we are made children of God (John 3:16-18). We are set free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

Exchanging our old nature for a new nature in Christ creates true righteousness and holiness in us (Ephesians 4:24). God helps by disciplining us for our sin, in order for us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).  

Submitting to His discipline allows us to exhibit His fruit to the world around us. We know that when Christ does appear, we will be exactly like Him, because we shall see Him in all of His glory (1 John 3:2).

Growing in our union with Christ starts each new day in a time of aloneness with God. Night owls do this before they go to bed, and morning doves pray when they wake up.

God also created the earth in such a manner that half the world is awake while the other half is sleeping. This way, we keep God company twenty-four hours a day!

We enter a realm of oneness with His Spirit and pray according to His will. We thank Him for His daily provision of our needs and appreciate Him for who He is.

Then we share our apprehensions and questions with Him. We feel His presence in our spirit; and sit quietly, listening for His still, small voice in answer to our prayers (Philippians 4:6; 1 Kings 19:11-13).

Once we make our requests known to God, we release all anxiety. Discarding all doubt and fear, we feel the peace of God, which transcends human reasoning and protects our soul and spirit in Christ (Philippians 4:6-7).

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus is part of Your Trinity, yet He spent hours communing with You while He lived on this earth (Luke 6:12). Prayer is essential, but the way that we insist on praying could prevent us from walking in Your Spirit. You taught the disciples how to pray and never told them stay in their prayer closet.

You love our focused attention during our times alone with You in our prayer closet; yet You also encourage us to pray throughout our day and walk as Your Spirit directs each moment. You may lead us to sit in our prayer closet to remove us from all distraction; but remind us that we do not stop praying when we leave our secret place.

Thought for the Day:

The Lord draws near to everyone who comes to Him with sincerity and integrity as the motive of their heart. 

- Psalm 145:18