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. 

The Faith of the Son of God

How can we live by the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2:20)? First and foremost, we live by the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and His provision of regeneration and His resurrection life in us (2 John 1:3; Titus 3:5; Philippians 3:11).

Faith has nothing to do with our hopes or claiming God’s Word for things we want. It has everything to do with Christ who abides within us. Faith only comes to us by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

If we did not have the faith of Christ within us, we could not have faith in Christ and His redemptive work for us on Calvary’s cross (Galatians 2:16; Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 10:1-14). As Christ is formed in us, our humanity decreases.

We live in Christ, just as Christ also lives in us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27). We also live in God’s righteousness, not by keeping rules and regulations, but by the faith of Christ which gives it all to us (Romans 3:21-22; Philippians 3:7-9).

Christ becomes our whole life (Colossians 3:4). We receive the promises of God by Christ’s faith within us, not by mustering up our faith by human effort (Hebrews 10:5-14; Galatians 3:22-26).

Keeping God’s law through our self-effort is also useless, and Jesus showed us this truth (Romans 10:4). God works the faith of Christ into our life by His Spirit (Ephesians 1:19-20, 2:8-9; Colossians 1:12).

Through Christ in us, we are adopted sons of the living God, heir with Christ and we are given the right to call God our “Abba Father” (Galatians 3:26, 4:4-7). We can come boldly to His throne (Ephesians 3:12).

We receive peace with God through the atonement of Christ on Calvary’s cross (Romans 4:25, 5:1-12, 18). He is the only Mediator between us and God (Ephesians 1:12). The faith of Christ gives us a firm foundation (Acts 3:16).

Salvation gives us the treasure of Christ in our mortal body (Colossians 2:3). Once we recognize that we are truly crucified with Christ, then Christ is fully formed in us and manifests through our mortal body (2 Corinthians 4:7; Galatians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, as You form Christ in us, His faith rests in us as well. The more we come to know Him, the more we walk in His faith (John 17:3). As we come to know Christ more, we also come to know Your ways and purpose for our life.

The faith of Christ in us is the evidence of the things we hope for, but which we cannot yet see (Hebrews 11:1). Abiding in Christ is the only way we walk in Your power (John 16:24). Remind us not to “name it and claim it” for our own carnal purposes; but to ask and seek only for Your Kingdom.

Thought for the Day:

We live in the faith of the Son of God, which Jesus both conceives and brings to fruitfulness in us. 

– Hebrews 12:2

A Living Sanctuary

God created the universe for our enjoyment (Genesis 1:1). He built in every provision we would ever require. As we seek Him with all of our heart, He supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Deuteronomy 6:5; Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33). Through His wisdom and power, His Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (Proverbs 2:3-5). As we diligently seek His face in prayer with a dedicated life, He opens to us every door we need, not to fulfill our desires, but in order to accomplish His plans for our life (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God created mankind to communicate with Him, to serve Him and to love Him with all of our heart (Deuteronomy 4:29). Our sins put static in the airwaves between God and us. We also weaken our communication with Our Father when we immerse our life in the things of this world. Without our Godly connection, we start to feel negative emotions, such as anxiety and stress. Conversely, as we stop committing those sins and focus instead on Christ in us, God faithfully forgives our sins and our connection is restored (1 John 1:9).

Once our communication with God is reinstated, we feel His peace and joy return to our soul once more (Psalm 5:3). Communication with God is more than talking. It also involves listening. If we spend all of our time talking to God, we limit our relationship with Him. It is all one sided and out of balance. Jesus enjoys deep unity with our Father (John 10:30). This same intimate relationship is available to us as well, because our triune God dwells within us (Colossians 1:27). God lives His life in us through every moment of our day if we focus on the leading of His Spirit (Luke 6:12-13).

Times of crisis and urgency are not the only issues God cares about. He has a plan for each moment of our life, and we find fulfillment only when we walk in His will. Living in God’s will is the happiest place on earth. As we pray without ceasing, we are available to hear God’s voice throughout our day and to follow in His footsteps moment by moment during our entire lifetime. As we feel His love and see His faithfulness in our daily life, praise and worship filled with thanksgiving engulf our days.

A sanctuary is a place that is set apart and sacred, holy and full of worship. God created us as a sanctuary in which He dwells. He lives and walks in us, through us and instead of us. He is our God and we are His people (2 Corinthians 6:16). God’s praises fill our heart and mind, and inundate our thoughts and actions. Each one of us is the temple of God and He dwells within us by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We benefit from that relationship all day long as we allow God’s Spirit to direct our steps through Christ in us (Psalm 16:9, 20:24; Psalm 119:133).

The concerns of the world and the treachery of sin try to steal our victory (Hebrews 3:13). However, if we trust in the Lord with our whole heart and depend upon God’s wisdom to direct our life, then we will walk in His continual victory (Proverbs 3:5-6). When our focus in life changes from the earthly to the eternal, our life has more meaning. We learn to praise God in every situation, even though the outcome seems bleak. He always works out everything, even the negative things, in His timing and for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11).

 
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, whether we experience a life-altering crisis or a simple mundane event, we need You and Your direction. Remind us to make music in our heart to You, Lord (Ephesians 5:19-20). As we gather with our church family, we speak the Word to one another, and sing hymns and make spiritual melodies to You, our mighty God (Ephesians 5:19-20). Put Your new song in our heart so we sing praises in worship to you, not just at church on Sunday, but every day of our life (Psalm 134:2; Psalm 40:3; Psalm 96:1). We dedicate all of our thoughts, words and deeds to Your glory. As we patiently trust in Your direction and provision for our life, we dedicate our life as a living sanctuary to You (1 Peter 2:5).

Thought for the Day:

God is preparing our lives to be a holy and set apart sanctuary for His habitation.