~~~~Remember prisoners, as if you were in prison with them: and remember those suffering ill-treatment, for you yourselves also are still in the body.Hebrews 13:3 - Weymouth's translation
Paul is talking about things we can pray for here. Interestingly he talks about prison ministry. I have gone a number of times to prison... TO MINISTER... And it can be a depressing place to minister!
I heard a minister speak about his work as a prison chaplain. He told us, "A prison chaplaincy colleague of mine said in our work we live among the sad, the bad and the mad." In spite of this, after more than 25 years service, his heart was still tender towards those imprisoned.
Stay tenderhearted!
Jesus feels for us in our weaknesses. Let's feel for others in theirs.
Don't just sit listening to CNN or Fox News and say how bad things are getting, or look at the tragedy those folks are going through! Instead we ought to be respond in prayer and pray God's word over the situation. When the news reports another event that causes us to worry or some disaster, then pray for those in the midst of it. When the news pronounces doom and gloom then speak out the promises God has given you for your life. Heb.4:15, Joh.16:23-24.
The Bible outlines that there is a ministry of prayer for believers.
Paul's first letter to Timothy tells us to pray for all men, for kings and for all who are in authority.
As you listen to the news pray for those involved in it.
There's are all sorts of people to pray for.
Paul called on us to pray for all our sanctified brethren in Christ and to particularly pray for those ministering God's Word.
Jesus told us to have enough grace to pray for people who negatively impact our lives. He said, "Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." 1Tim.2:1-4, Eph.6:18, 2Thes.3:1, Mat.5:44.
So get into gear and prayer by Christ's love!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Comforted of God
~~~~~
(God) Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 - NKJV
OK... So we all have tribulation in our life! Oh, by the way tribulation is not just some end time event... its the hastles we go through in our daily life! And tribulation is a thing we all want to avoid, at all costs!
But, let me give you some advice, try to avoid the temptation to simply rush through life's trying and most discomforting circumstances!
You may think, "I have no time now to wait on God for His comfort."
It's important to realise that God's promises of comfort are given or offered to us with a responsibility, almost a demand on your part to go to Him for comfort.
We use to think someday we would open a prayer center and our slogan would be "Resort to Prayer"... A play on the idea of going to a resort for rest, relaxation and comfort!
Resort to God in trying times and you'll find His comfort. His comfort will settle and encourage you. Just like when you go to a resort for a vacation. Isa.40:1, Joh.14:16.
You have to pull back from the pressures that surround you in order to partake of God's comfort. In other words, you got to get into prayer!
People in the world, sinners... and sometimes saints, live life in the stress and strain of unrelenting busyness, personal confrontations or uncomfortable circumstances. We work ourselves into a spiritual tornado of problems!
In contrast, the Christian life is meant and I stress the word meant... to be lived in the comfort and peace of the Holy Spirit. (Hay don't get me wrong.. those tornadoes will touch down in your life! Just because you are a Christian does not mean everything will be perfect from now on!)
Receive God's comfort by going to Him in prayer, and it will settle you down into a confident expectation (I think that is from the Message bible) of all the things that are wrong being made right.
As an added bonus, you will also gain an awareness of God with you. There's something comforting of the thought of God with us!
Failing to resort to prayer to God for His comfort will usually leave you floundering through and often messing up things in your life. Jer.29:11.
God's comfort will restore peace to you.
For every trying circumstance, upsetting communication,or after a small tornado has touched down in your life, why not go to prayer and seek the comfort of God!
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high God... Ps. 91
In prayer you will find His comfort, it can draw you out and save you from your discomfort.
OH! and by the way... there's a bonus!
You will become a comforter once you've been comforted.
You'll find that the comfort you've received enables you to comfort others!
Isn't that just what the scripture in 2 Corinthians is promising us?
Receive God's comfort in your life
(God) Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 - NKJV
OK... So we all have tribulation in our life! Oh, by the way tribulation is not just some end time event... its the hastles we go through in our daily life! And tribulation is a thing we all want to avoid, at all costs!
But, let me give you some advice, try to avoid the temptation to simply rush through life's trying and most discomforting circumstances!
You may think, "I have no time now to wait on God for His comfort."
It's important to realise that God's promises of comfort are given or offered to us with a responsibility, almost a demand on your part to go to Him for comfort.
We use to think someday we would open a prayer center and our slogan would be "Resort to Prayer"... A play on the idea of going to a resort for rest, relaxation and comfort!
Resort to God in trying times and you'll find His comfort. His comfort will settle and encourage you. Just like when you go to a resort for a vacation. Isa.40:1, Joh.14:16.
You have to pull back from the pressures that surround you in order to partake of God's comfort. In other words, you got to get into prayer!
People in the world, sinners... and sometimes saints, live life in the stress and strain of unrelenting busyness, personal confrontations or uncomfortable circumstances. We work ourselves into a spiritual tornado of problems!
In contrast, the Christian life is meant and I stress the word meant... to be lived in the comfort and peace of the Holy Spirit. (Hay don't get me wrong.. those tornadoes will touch down in your life! Just because you are a Christian does not mean everything will be perfect from now on!)
Receive God's comfort by going to Him in prayer, and it will settle you down into a confident expectation (I think that is from the Message bible) of all the things that are wrong being made right.
As an added bonus, you will also gain an awareness of God with you. There's something comforting of the thought of God with us!
Failing to resort to prayer to God for His comfort will usually leave you floundering through and often messing up things in your life. Jer.29:11.
God's comfort will restore peace to you.
For every trying circumstance, upsetting communication,or after a small tornado has touched down in your life, why not go to prayer and seek the comfort of God!
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high God... Ps. 91
In prayer you will find His comfort, it can draw you out and save you from your discomfort.
OH! and by the way... there's a bonus!
You will become a comforter once you've been comforted.
You'll find that the comfort you've received enables you to comfort others!
Isn't that just what the scripture in 2 Corinthians is promising us?
Receive God's comfort in your life
Monday, April 12, 2010
The place of prayer in a God created Revival!
Here are what a few men who had first hand knowledge of a God created revival had to say about the place of prayer in a revival
Agonise in prayer “Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer. – CH. H Spurgeon
Pray with all your might “You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God... This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unvelieving nature will oppose. Theywill pour water on this flame” William Both
The place of prayer in revival “It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37. and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication (see Zechariah 12:10).” Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the Revival in New England - 1740
Prevailing prayer Prevailing or effectual prayer is that prayer which attains the blessing that it seeks. It is that prayer which effectually moves God. The very idea of effectual prayer is that it effects its objects.Charles Finney, quoted by Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p27
The first sign of revival When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying. - Matthew Henry, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p112
Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival - men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. – C.H. Spurgeon
Agonise in prayer “Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer. – CH. H Spurgeon
Pray with all your might “You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God... This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unvelieving nature will oppose. Theywill pour water on this flame” William Both
The place of prayer in revival “It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37. and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication (see Zechariah 12:10).” Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the Revival in New England - 1740
Prevailing prayer Prevailing or effectual prayer is that prayer which attains the blessing that it seeks. It is that prayer which effectually moves God. The very idea of effectual prayer is that it effects its objects.Charles Finney, quoted by Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p27
The first sign of revival When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying. - Matthew Henry, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p112
Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival - men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. – C.H. Spurgeon
Friday, April 9, 2010
May you know your prayers are answered!
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.James 1:15 - NKJV
How long does it take for a prayer to be answered?
I've got no answer to give you on that.
However, if someone sends me a request for prayer and 6 months later sends me exactly the same request again then that gives me reason for concern.
Could it be that God has failed to respond to the prayer?
No!
What is likely is that the one requesting prayer has been sitting on their hands waiting for prayer's answer. Often it is not enough to pray and wait. Usually you have to take active steps to move that prayer forward.
Following your prayer request a Spirit-led action time is usually needed in order to get you to prayer answered.
Here's a guide that takes you through the request stage of prayer and into the Spirit-led action stage.
1) Present your petition to God - ask Him to act on your behalf to "sort things out and set things up".
2) Call on the Lord to change your perception of the problem so you see what the problem really is. How you see it now may not be how it really is.
3) Look to the Holy Spirit to prompt you about the actions you must take and also the attitude or conduct changes you may need. 1Joh.5:14-15.
God responds to prayer but you have to do your part.
Getting God's answer into your realm of experience requires you translating your faith into action.
Corresponding action is needed as a follow up to faith prayer. In prayer you have to recognise what God is going to have to do. Then you have to accept what you are going to have to do. For this, you let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart about what actions, attitude changes or conduct changes to make. Ja.2:14-23.
May you know your prayers are answered!
How long does it take for a prayer to be answered?
I've got no answer to give you on that.
However, if someone sends me a request for prayer and 6 months later sends me exactly the same request again then that gives me reason for concern.
Could it be that God has failed to respond to the prayer?
No!
What is likely is that the one requesting prayer has been sitting on their hands waiting for prayer's answer. Often it is not enough to pray and wait. Usually you have to take active steps to move that prayer forward.
Following your prayer request a Spirit-led action time is usually needed in order to get you to prayer answered.
Here's a guide that takes you through the request stage of prayer and into the Spirit-led action stage.
1) Present your petition to God - ask Him to act on your behalf to "sort things out and set things up".
2) Call on the Lord to change your perception of the problem so you see what the problem really is. How you see it now may not be how it really is.
3) Look to the Holy Spirit to prompt you about the actions you must take and also the attitude or conduct changes you may need. 1Joh.5:14-15.
God responds to prayer but you have to do your part.
Getting God's answer into your realm of experience requires you translating your faith into action.
Corresponding action is needed as a follow up to faith prayer. In prayer you have to recognise what God is going to have to do. Then you have to accept what you are going to have to do. For this, you let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart about what actions, attitude changes or conduct changes to make. Ja.2:14-23.
May you know your prayers are answered!
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