(I've addressed this devotion to the Christian believer to have a deeper understanding of our purpose on earth.)
"The World was Created for Me" is a concept in Judaism. In it’s revelation we discover that we are each unique and significant to God. We are valuable because we simply exist. We don’t need to prove ourselves worthy because we are already worthy! God created us worthy to begin with!
But that's just on the Surface...
Many times our problem is that we don’t think we are worthy. Perhaps we had an upbringing where we were always judged or a relationship where we got the idea that we weren't "good". We learned to think of ourselves as "bad". When we think that way and don't acknowledge the worth that God placed on us, we are miserable. We spend our days constantly trying to prove that we are good enough to everyone else. But God created us worthy and in His plan He created the world for us! What a wonderful thing to know! We need to breathe that in. We need to embrace that thought and bring out our light and share it with others. Indeed we are worthy, God made us that way!
Now someone might be thinking that this is wrong and against the biblical teaching that says all our righteousness is as filthy rags. This doesn't take away the fact that God first created us worthy enough to have fellowship with Him.
You know the story... sin entered into Eden and man was cast out. We needed to be redeemed. We couldn't perform anything to bring us to righteousness. There isn't any deed that can be done to put us at that status. Only by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus can we be redeemed and saved from our sinful ways. Once we receive Him then we hopefully begin to grow... spiritually grow...
So, what does it mean~"the world was created for me"
What more does it really mean? Is the world ours to consume without responsibility? The late Rav Noach Weinberg taught that the world having been created for me means it is “my responsibility”. How can that be?
What can I do for the world when I am such a tiny part of it? How can the vastness of the world’s problems such as the genocide in Darfur, poverty around the world, violence and death, hatred, and crumbling families be my responsibility?
The very fact that any of us think in these terms of how small we are shows that we recognize our responsibility. Usually the very thing that we do first is to excuse ourselves because we are so small in comparison to the problems of the world. What we forget to consider is that God is with us when we strive to make a difference. He is not only with us but for the believer He is in us. He is ready to empower us to care for His world when ever we finally realize our role!
But how?
Identifying the pain of others near us is the first step in taking responsibility for the world. Consider Moses, when the Torah says in Exodus 2:12 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens… Moses left Pharoah’s palace not only to see the pain of his brethren but to identify with their pain. After all, even though he had been raised in the palace, he still had his Hebrew heritage and the influence of his mother. He knew he was Hebrew and he wanted to identify. This was the foundation that his leadership was built upon. When we start to identify with the pain of another, that is when we begin to understand our responsibility.
It isn’t enough to just identify with the pain. If someone is hungry we are to feed them. If they are thirsty we are to give them a drink.
Wait, we just jumped from talking about the world to talking about our neighbor! You may think that the problems and issues of the world are too big. We see the problems and our reaction is that it requires too much of us to make a difference. There are just too many needs. So we sometimes rationalize and instead of trying to help anyone, many people (even Christians) just give up and end up helping no one. Our thinking is wrong here! It isn’t about us… we must consider that we can’t lift a finger without God giving us the power to do it. Even if we just help our neighbor, it is God who is the giver. If we try to take on this responsibility alone, we are wrong on many levels. We need to ask our Heavenly Father to help not only those in our immediate reach but to give us the understanding, power and resources to affect the world. He can show us that by reaching out to those near us, we are truly effecting a change in their world and in the greater scheme of things the world. But we have to be willing to move forward... How do we begin?
Pray for Understanding
Back ground knowledge is important to understanding new concepts. If we don’t have any background for a new topic then learning will be limited. We need to have our spiritual senses open in order to understand. There are places in the Bible that says “having eyes but not seeing and having ears but not hearing”. These are the most simple of senses to relate to when trying to understand our role as Christians.
Sight and hearing are just two areas, but the sense of smell, taste and touch are just as important. How could we ever understand physical joy or pain if we have never experienced some sort of it? How could we begin to understand longing for the Lord’s presence if we have never sensed Him near us? The scriptures are loaded with references related to our senses to help us understand. Have you ever read the psalms of David and felt his weakness when he was weary or felt his strength when he was trusting in the Lord? Have you noticed the smell of the oil that was poured out on Jesus’s feet or that he was wrapped in when prepared for burial? Could you taste the difference in the wine at the wedding where Jesus performed his first miracle? The scriptures reveal it but do you comprehend it?
Ask the Lord to reveal all aspects of the scripture for you to build your background knowledge so that when you encounter each new day, you’ll recognize the scripture and bring His Word to remembrance in your walk. (Understanding is knowledge but it is not wisdom. Keep that thought because I’ll return to it.)
Pray for Love, Power & Glory
There isn’t anything that you or I can do in our own power for the Kingdom of Christ. In order to honor Him most, we need His love, power and glory in our lives. Look how Jesus prayed for us in John 17.
Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Does the love, power and glory strike you from His prayer? He prayed these things for you and me. He didn’t just pray for those who walked with him in ancient times. He prayed for us love, power and glory. Think about it…
Resources
We generally think about money and material possessions when we think of resources, but I’d like to suggest that we are confused as to the importance of these things. In our world today, we have been taught that the world revolves around money and things. To the Christian, we need to remember that our world revolves around Christ! We are not of this world but we are to be ambassadors for Chirst in a world that doesn’t know Him.
We have many resources. One resource is our head (mind) to be used to gain knowledge and wisdom. The knowledge is definitely the things we know but wisdom comes from listening to God. Another resource is our hearts to be purified by His blood that we might bring honor to His Name. When our head and our hearts are ready then we can begin to use the other resources more effectively.
He will tell us when and how to best use what He has given us. Another resource is our eyes to be used to see beyond what the surface shows that we might realize what He desires for us. Another resources is our hands to use to help others and create for the Kingdom of Heaven. Another resource is our feet to be used to take us quickly where He wills us to go. What about time? The clock that we view and the schedules we keep are all man-made and in order to live in this world we have had to adapt to them, but time really belongs to God!
Let’s pray that we understand more and more in the Spirit,. Let’s pray that we cultivate love, power and glory for His honor. Let’s pray that we learn how to use our resourses wisely namely: our time, heads, hearts, eyes, hands, and feet. When we do all these things then we will realize even more how the world belongs to us. It belongs to us to care for just as Jesus cared for us we are to care for the world’s people.
Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. Psalm 9:10-12 (in Context)
1620
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
How to Care for Your Soul
We all need a refresher course now and then to keep us on track when it comes to living the Christian life. My pastor gave such a refresher this past Sunday and I thought I’d share it today along with my take on it. So Pastor Bob, thanks very much!
Now, most everyone knows these things, but sometimes we get rusty and need some fresh oil applied. So get out your drip cloth and expect to be oiled up.
1. Read the Word for yourself!
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
· We sometimes need our ritual habits cut away by the sharp edges of the sword. The soul’s “I want, I think, I feel” weights down the Holy Spirit so that we are not free to live as He wants us to live.
· We need to understand the difference between the hard joint and the soft marrow. Our joints are flexible and meant to move either by back and forth, side to side or rotating. The marrow keeps the bones alive by sending oxygen to all parts of our body and fights disease and germs. God must be allowed to get to our marrow. Sometimes He has to do surgery to get there... If we are to be alive, we need to read His Word. If we are to be healthy, we are to read His Word.
· We need our thoughts and desires exposed by the light of His Word. Perhaps it’s the purposes for which we decide to do something that needs to be examined. His Word is alive and powerful to reveal the status of our inner being. We will know Him better by reading His Word for ourselves.
2. Prayer is the gate we open and He comes through!
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.
· Nothing is hidden from God. God is omniscient! He knows everything. We might think since He already knows everything, then why should we pray. But “He” knows everything and “we” do not. We can’t embarrass or shock God. He loves us and He already knows what we have done before we pray. He knows every fear that we have and all the trials we have faced and every temptations known. He knows all of it even before we realize it!
· Prayer will reveal our motives even more clearly to ourselves when we articulate them in prayer. We might find ourselves repenting for our lustful desires and pride. 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
· We must give an account. He wants us to be honest with Him.
3. Confess to an accountability partner.
James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
· We need accountability in our motives, marriage, ministry and our mind. We don’t need to confess our sins to the world. The world doesn’t need to know our faults and weaknesses. When we discover our sins, faults and weaknesses during our own reading of the Word or prayer time, then we need to make confession to a trusted fellow believer, so that they may pray with us as scriptures reveals.
· Making confession to someone else won’t do anything but allow them to love and pray for us. It is not their forgiveness we need. When we have sinned and repent we tell God who has the power to forgive us.
o Confession allows our accountability partner the chance to come into agreement with us in prayer. It helps to heal the broken spirit and gets us back on track again.
o Confession allows our accountability partner the chance to hear how easily some sin has captured us and may help them to refrain from making the same mistake.
· Pray for forgiveness of our faithlessness in our motives, marriage, ministry and our minds.
4. View everything in life that "all things" work together for good.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God allows things to come into our lives so that we can go to Him. We are not to go by our means of rescue (example to borrow money) and we are not to go to others to provide the need before we have gone to God. God wants us to come to Him. (This is not to say that we should never borrow, but it is God who will direct if that is the path we are to follow. The point is that we are to go to Him and find out from Him what He desires of us! Your walk with Him is your testimony. We never know who may be watching us live out the Word. Do we have a faith in the Lord that is showing on the outside? Or do we have only Sunday morning faith? )
Strength Building Scriptures that point to God first!
Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. God will take care of me.
Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! God will take care of me.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. God will take care of me.
Acts 20:35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ God will take care of me.
Proverbs 22:7 Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. God will take care of me.
5. Learn to enjoy our relationship with God.
Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
[Two words need to be examined closely: “delight” and “desires”. This verse is often misinterpreted by Christians and taken to mean that God will give me whatever we want (i.e. earthly blessings) if I delight in Him. But the Hebrew word translated “delight” (עָנַג, pronounced aw-nag) literally means to be delicate or feminine (Strong’s, עָנַג.) It carries the idea of being pliable or sensitive. In this particular context, it means to be dependent upon God and to derive one’s pleasure from Him. Does this describe us? Would we rather spend time communing with God (in worship, the Word, prayer, even in our vocation) or with other people, engaged in other activities? The verb translated “delight” is an imperative in the Hebrew, meaning this is a command. Does this put a new twist on the meaning for us? Delighting in the Lord is not a helpful suggestion, but a command from the pen of the inspired Psalmist. We are to strive to delight completely in God.
The term translated “desires” (מִשְׁאָלָה, pronounced mish-aw-law) refers to petitions or requests (TWOT, מִשְׁאָלָה.) In Hebrew thought, the heart was primarily the seat of the inner man. It was the source of the will. In other words, the Psalmist tells us that God will honor our delighting in Him by graciously giving us what we are asking of Him from the very depths of our being. If we are delighting ourselves in God… then what are the desires of our heart? If we are relying upon God and deriving our primary pleasure in Him, then He is the desire of our heart. The promise here is not that God will give us the things of this world if we delight in Him. The promise is that God will give us Himself, if and when we delight ourselves in Him. The greatest blessing which we can ever receive is to know God intimately. Jesus said that eternal life is ultimately all about knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
The greatest blessing imaginable is for God to make His face to shine upon us. Numbers 6:22-27 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: 24 ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. 25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ 27 Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” This highlighted text including the Hebrew tranlations is from MBC Globe ~ Pastor's Blog: http://mbcpastoringlobe.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/delight-yourself-in-the-lord-%E2%80%93-psalm-374/ ]
If you love Him and are faithful and honest… if you love the people of God then God looks on you and says, “What is it that you want?”
o Our attitude must turn. We must no longer think in terms of ‘I have to read my Bible. I have to pray. I have to go to church, etc.’
o We must think in terms of ‘I get to read my Bible. I get to pray. I get to go to church, etc.”
This is when true intimacy with God occurs and this is how we are to care for our souls. So find your Bible and dust it off, invest some effort into making a place to study and pray in your home. Think of an accountability partner and perhaps more than one for the various areas of your life (motives, marriage, ministry and mind). Always remember that you are a child of God and He is in control. There is nothing that happens that He isn't aware of. You may be going through something to teach you a lesson or so that someone watching will turn to Him through the testimony of your walk! Last, but not least, be perfectly happy and joyous in your relationship with the Lord. Your life will just get better and better as your love grows deeper and stronger for Him who loves you!
Our Father, forgive us for forgetting you and help us to apply the truth of your Word to our lives daily. May we reflect your honor, power and glory every day!
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Scriptures above are taken from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.
1599
Now, most everyone knows these things, but sometimes we get rusty and need some fresh oil applied. So get out your drip cloth and expect to be oiled up.
1. Read the Word for yourself!
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
· We sometimes need our ritual habits cut away by the sharp edges of the sword. The soul’s “I want, I think, I feel” weights down the Holy Spirit so that we are not free to live as He wants us to live.
· We need to understand the difference between the hard joint and the soft marrow. Our joints are flexible and meant to move either by back and forth, side to side or rotating. The marrow keeps the bones alive by sending oxygen to all parts of our body and fights disease and germs. God must be allowed to get to our marrow. Sometimes He has to do surgery to get there... If we are to be alive, we need to read His Word. If we are to be healthy, we are to read His Word.
· We need our thoughts and desires exposed by the light of His Word. Perhaps it’s the purposes for which we decide to do something that needs to be examined. His Word is alive and powerful to reveal the status of our inner being. We will know Him better by reading His Word for ourselves.
2. Prayer is the gate we open and He comes through!
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.
· Nothing is hidden from God. God is omniscient! He knows everything. We might think since He already knows everything, then why should we pray. But “He” knows everything and “we” do not. We can’t embarrass or shock God. He loves us and He already knows what we have done before we pray. He knows every fear that we have and all the trials we have faced and every temptations known. He knows all of it even before we realize it!
· Prayer will reveal our motives even more clearly to ourselves when we articulate them in prayer. We might find ourselves repenting for our lustful desires and pride. 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
· We must give an account. He wants us to be honest with Him.
3. Confess to an accountability partner.
James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
· We need accountability in our motives, marriage, ministry and our mind. We don’t need to confess our sins to the world. The world doesn’t need to know our faults and weaknesses. When we discover our sins, faults and weaknesses during our own reading of the Word or prayer time, then we need to make confession to a trusted fellow believer, so that they may pray with us as scriptures reveals.
· Making confession to someone else won’t do anything but allow them to love and pray for us. It is not their forgiveness we need. When we have sinned and repent we tell God who has the power to forgive us.
o Confession allows our accountability partner the chance to come into agreement with us in prayer. It helps to heal the broken spirit and gets us back on track again.
o Confession allows our accountability partner the chance to hear how easily some sin has captured us and may help them to refrain from making the same mistake.
· Pray for forgiveness of our faithlessness in our motives, marriage, ministry and our minds.
4. View everything in life that "all things" work together for good.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God allows things to come into our lives so that we can go to Him. We are not to go by our means of rescue (example to borrow money) and we are not to go to others to provide the need before we have gone to God. God wants us to come to Him. (This is not to say that we should never borrow, but it is God who will direct if that is the path we are to follow. The point is that we are to go to Him and find out from Him what He desires of us! Your walk with Him is your testimony. We never know who may be watching us live out the Word. Do we have a faith in the Lord that is showing on the outside? Or do we have only Sunday morning faith? )
Strength Building Scriptures that point to God first!
Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. God will take care of me.
Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! God will take care of me.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. God will take care of me.
Acts 20:35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ God will take care of me.
Proverbs 22:7 Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. God will take care of me.
5. Learn to enjoy our relationship with God.
Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
[Two words need to be examined closely: “delight” and “desires”. This verse is often misinterpreted by Christians and taken to mean that God will give me whatever we want (i.e. earthly blessings) if I delight in Him. But the Hebrew word translated “delight” (עָנַג, pronounced aw-nag) literally means to be delicate or feminine (Strong’s, עָנַג.) It carries the idea of being pliable or sensitive. In this particular context, it means to be dependent upon God and to derive one’s pleasure from Him. Does this describe us? Would we rather spend time communing with God (in worship, the Word, prayer, even in our vocation) or with other people, engaged in other activities? The verb translated “delight” is an imperative in the Hebrew, meaning this is a command. Does this put a new twist on the meaning for us? Delighting in the Lord is not a helpful suggestion, but a command from the pen of the inspired Psalmist. We are to strive to delight completely in God.
The term translated “desires” (מִשְׁאָלָה, pronounced mish-aw-law) refers to petitions or requests (TWOT, מִשְׁאָלָה.) In Hebrew thought, the heart was primarily the seat of the inner man. It was the source of the will. In other words, the Psalmist tells us that God will honor our delighting in Him by graciously giving us what we are asking of Him from the very depths of our being. If we are delighting ourselves in God… then what are the desires of our heart? If we are relying upon God and deriving our primary pleasure in Him, then He is the desire of our heart. The promise here is not that God will give us the things of this world if we delight in Him. The promise is that God will give us Himself, if and when we delight ourselves in Him. The greatest blessing which we can ever receive is to know God intimately. Jesus said that eternal life is ultimately all about knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
The greatest blessing imaginable is for God to make His face to shine upon us. Numbers 6:22-27 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: 24 ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. 25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ 27 Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” This highlighted text including the Hebrew tranlations is from MBC Globe ~ Pastor's Blog: http://mbcpastoringlobe.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/delight-yourself-in-the-lord-%E2%80%93-psalm-374/ ]
If you love Him and are faithful and honest… if you love the people of God then God looks on you and says, “What is it that you want?”
o Our attitude must turn. We must no longer think in terms of ‘I have to read my Bible. I have to pray. I have to go to church, etc.’
o We must think in terms of ‘I get to read my Bible. I get to pray. I get to go to church, etc.”
This is when true intimacy with God occurs and this is how we are to care for our souls. So find your Bible and dust it off, invest some effort into making a place to study and pray in your home. Think of an accountability partner and perhaps more than one for the various areas of your life (motives, marriage, ministry and mind). Always remember that you are a child of God and He is in control. There is nothing that happens that He isn't aware of. You may be going through something to teach you a lesson or so that someone watching will turn to Him through the testimony of your walk! Last, but not least, be perfectly happy and joyous in your relationship with the Lord. Your life will just get better and better as your love grows deeper and stronger for Him who loves you!
Our Father, forgive us for forgetting you and help us to apply the truth of your Word to our lives daily. May we reflect your honor, power and glory every day!
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Scriptures above are taken from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.
1599
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Praise & Prayer
I truly enjoyed a wonderful time of prayer and worship Friday night with a small group gathered just to bring honor to the Lord. It was a last minute invite, brought together by a sweet young woman who felt that God had told her to open her home for a meeting so she called those that were brought to her mind. Before the night was over there were twelve of us in attendance and great revelations were pouring through as we shared some of our personal devotions with one another. It's amazing how God speaks to His children. We found that each of us was learning the same lesson as everyone else but in a unique way meant just for us. God is so good!
During that time, God revealed the great importance of praying once again. I've prayed ever since I accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior years ago. Over the years I’ve listened to many messages on the subject of prayer and read a multitude of books about praying. I've belonged to prayer teams and Intercessor groups, but this revelation was somehow different. This time the urgency of God's children coming together in prayer was more like a strategic team of warriors.
The Weapons of Warfare!
In my mind’s eye, I saw angels with bowls, hurling them down to earth and the contents were prayers. Prayers are the weapons of warfare. This image came to alert me to that very fact. Our prayers are important. God hears them all and stores them for His use. Before the throne of the Lord Jesus right now are created beings and elders. I pray that you can understand that as we pray here on earth, our prayers are received as holy incense filling the bowls that the angels hold. If you are unfamiliar with any of this, seek Him in the scriptures for yourself. I'm still learning as I go. New revelations are gathered as little by little the scriptures are read. We can’t get what He has for us with only listening to a message once in a while and saying a prayer when we need something. We must be renewed daily in His word just to have the strength to carry on another day.
And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8
The harps show the praise and the golden bowls represent our faith-filled prayers, for if we did not believe then we would never have prayed. The two are in company together. The revelation to me was that we are to pray more often and in belief. The golden bowls need to be filled. God has an angel army. These are not the little Renaissance cherubs we see painted on the walls and in portraits. These are mighty warriors. Scripture says we activate them to aid. The way we activate them is through prayer. (This is an entirely deeper subject to be studied further. I would suggest searching the scriptures and also reading books by Perry Stone and Ron Phillips on the subjects of angels and of demons.)
Pray with our hearts!
How many times have we said a “functionary” prayer? You know what I mean, it’s meal time and so we bow our head and say a few words of grace with our lips but our hearts are not involved. We have a routine and follow it as a ritual and prayer is included but once again where is our heart? We may say, “Oh, how devoted that man is because he prays five times a day.” But God is not impressed. 1 Samuel 16:7… But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God knows our hearts!
Pray with Thanksgiving!
So let us be fervent in prayer that we may fill the bowls in heaven with holy incense. If you have never thought of prayer as a weapon, start thinking that way today! Prayer is our weapon of choice. The first thing we must remember in prayer is to be thankful and give praise to our God. Psalm 69: 30-31 Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
Prayer for ourselves!
Usually the first prayers we pray are for ourselves. It's easy to ask God to help us and give us things. When we make supplicaton to Him, believing that He is able to help us with our requests, this honors Him. We pray knowing that God the Father willingly gives to His children. But we must realize and acknowledge that God knows what is best even in our prayerful requests. We might not get what we want. We might think we know what we need but God doesn’t always answer every prayer the way we think He should. We need to pray as Jesus did with this attitude, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”
Phillipians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
What about intercession?
This is standing in the gap for someone else. There are many to pray for during. We are to pray for our enemies. Yes, you heard that right! (Read Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28) We are to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. (Acts 12:5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:25). We are to pray for the sick and those who need healing (James 5:14)
We are to pray for one another. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16.
When do we pray?
We must learn to do it all the time. (Romans 12:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Why do we pray?
Ephesians 6: 12-19 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
Praise Him and Pray
Praise (“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” Revelation 5:13)
Prayer (“The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects,” James 5:16)
These are only two weapons of our warfare. There are more weapons available. He grants the use of these weapons that are housed in His arsenal (His Word) when we seek Him out.
So dress for battle and be ready at His call! You will need the belt of truth (this is the ministry of God’s Word going forth into the world), the breastplate of righteousness (this is the ministry for acts of kindness that we bestow because of Christ’s blood covering on us), sandals of peace (this is the ministry of reconciliation ~ peace with God and peace with man), the shield of faith (this deflects the fiery arrows of doubt and despair that the enemy fires upon us) and the helmet of salvation (this is the protection of our mind to fight against discouragement from within us) and the sword of the Spirit (this is the double edge of God’s revealed truth).
Being ready for spiritual warfare is not a one-time thing but a way of life for the believer. As we learn to wear our armor and use the armaments, we can resist satan and his demonic forces. When the fight is over we will be standing because that is the place God wants us to be while on the battlefield. Stand!
1526
During that time, God revealed the great importance of praying once again. I've prayed ever since I accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior years ago. Over the years I’ve listened to many messages on the subject of prayer and read a multitude of books about praying. I've belonged to prayer teams and Intercessor groups, but this revelation was somehow different. This time the urgency of God's children coming together in prayer was more like a strategic team of warriors.
The Weapons of Warfare!
In my mind’s eye, I saw angels with bowls, hurling them down to earth and the contents were prayers. Prayers are the weapons of warfare. This image came to alert me to that very fact. Our prayers are important. God hears them all and stores them for His use. Before the throne of the Lord Jesus right now are created beings and elders. I pray that you can understand that as we pray here on earth, our prayers are received as holy incense filling the bowls that the angels hold. If you are unfamiliar with any of this, seek Him in the scriptures for yourself. I'm still learning as I go. New revelations are gathered as little by little the scriptures are read. We can’t get what He has for us with only listening to a message once in a while and saying a prayer when we need something. We must be renewed daily in His word just to have the strength to carry on another day.
And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8
The harps show the praise and the golden bowls represent our faith-filled prayers, for if we did not believe then we would never have prayed. The two are in company together. The revelation to me was that we are to pray more often and in belief. The golden bowls need to be filled. God has an angel army. These are not the little Renaissance cherubs we see painted on the walls and in portraits. These are mighty warriors. Scripture says we activate them to aid. The way we activate them is through prayer. (This is an entirely deeper subject to be studied further. I would suggest searching the scriptures and also reading books by Perry Stone and Ron Phillips on the subjects of angels and of demons.)
Pray with our hearts!
How many times have we said a “functionary” prayer? You know what I mean, it’s meal time and so we bow our head and say a few words of grace with our lips but our hearts are not involved. We have a routine and follow it as a ritual and prayer is included but once again where is our heart? We may say, “Oh, how devoted that man is because he prays five times a day.” But God is not impressed. 1 Samuel 16:7… But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God knows our hearts!
Pray with Thanksgiving!
So let us be fervent in prayer that we may fill the bowls in heaven with holy incense. If you have never thought of prayer as a weapon, start thinking that way today! Prayer is our weapon of choice. The first thing we must remember in prayer is to be thankful and give praise to our God. Psalm 69: 30-31 Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
Prayer for ourselves!
Usually the first prayers we pray are for ourselves. It's easy to ask God to help us and give us things. When we make supplicaton to Him, believing that He is able to help us with our requests, this honors Him. We pray knowing that God the Father willingly gives to His children. But we must realize and acknowledge that God knows what is best even in our prayerful requests. We might not get what we want. We might think we know what we need but God doesn’t always answer every prayer the way we think He should. We need to pray as Jesus did with this attitude, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”
Phillipians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
What about intercession?
This is standing in the gap for someone else. There are many to pray for during. We are to pray for our enemies. Yes, you heard that right! (Read Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28) We are to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. (Acts 12:5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:25). We are to pray for the sick and those who need healing (James 5:14)
We are to pray for one another. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16.
When do we pray?
We must learn to do it all the time. (Romans 12:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Why do we pray?
Ephesians 6: 12-19 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
Praise Him and Pray
Praise (“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” Revelation 5:13)
Prayer (“The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects,” James 5:16)
These are only two weapons of our warfare. There are more weapons available. He grants the use of these weapons that are housed in His arsenal (His Word) when we seek Him out.
So dress for battle and be ready at His call! You will need the belt of truth (this is the ministry of God’s Word going forth into the world), the breastplate of righteousness (this is the ministry for acts of kindness that we bestow because of Christ’s blood covering on us), sandals of peace (this is the ministry of reconciliation ~ peace with God and peace with man), the shield of faith (this deflects the fiery arrows of doubt and despair that the enemy fires upon us) and the helmet of salvation (this is the protection of our mind to fight against discouragement from within us) and the sword of the Spirit (this is the double edge of God’s revealed truth).
Being ready for spiritual warfare is not a one-time thing but a way of life for the believer. As we learn to wear our armor and use the armaments, we can resist satan and his demonic forces. When the fight is over we will be standing because that is the place God wants us to be while on the battlefield. Stand!
1526
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