Prayer for 2017

Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask for Your Divine intervention for a new fresh beginning. Open supernatural doors today in our lives.

Save and set us free from every satanic operation. Give us a double portion of your Spirit as we take back everything that the Devil has stolen from us: 

  

Our Emotional Health, Physical Health, Finances, 

Relationships, Children, Jobs, Homes, Marriages. 

  

We ask You to cancel every plot, plan, and scheme the enemy has devised against your children in the MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS AND BY THE POWER OF YOUR BLOOD. 

We declare: 

NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US SHALL PROSPER. 

  

We speak LIFE into every dead situation in our lives And, we thank you that nothing is over until YOU say it's over! We speak  prophetically into our lives and to our situations: 

 

Our households are blessed; 

Our health is blessed; 

Our marriages are blessed; 

Our finances are blessed; 

Our businesses are blessed; 

Our jobs are blessed; 

Our children are blessed; 

Our grandchildren are blessed; 

Our parents are blessed; 

Our siblings are blessed; 

Our ministries are blessed; 

Our decisions are blessed. 

Mortgages are paid and debts are cancelled; 

Our hearts' desires are according to YOUR perfect will and plan for our lives.

In JESUS name, amen!  

Joy in Resting

We live in a day when so many people attempt to climb the ladder of success. But by working so hard to find happiness, we can miss the mark of genuine, joyful living. Paul points to contentment as a secret to gaining real joy and fulfillment. Contentment is not a lazy attitude or lack of motivation. Contentment is an ability to be thankful and joyful no matter the quality of life one has or the daily challenges and struggles. To stand fast in the Lord, is to stand fast in His strength, and by His grace.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” Philippians 4:1

Christians need to be called again and again to live joyfully. We have much more reason for joy than we do sorrow. It is the duty of the believer to take care and diligence in their faith. It is understandable to have concerns and we should use Godly wisdom. On the other hand, when there is fear and distrust, which is sin and foolishness, only creates confusion and distracts the mind. As a remedy against over thinking it, constant prayer is recommended. We don’t just prayer in certain times or for certain things, but in everything by prayer. We must add to our thanksgivings, our prayers and requests, and not only to better our situation, but to treasure the mercy God has given us. He finds pleasure when we show that we value His mercy, and that we depend on Him. The peace of God, the comfort knowing we have been reconciled to Him, and receiving His favor, and the hope of living in eternal blessedness with Him, are a greater good than can be fully expressed. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7.

Joyful living, and the peace that comes from it, keeps us from sinning through our troubles and from sinking under them. It keeps us calm and inwardly satisfied. Believers are to get and keep a good name, a people of noble character. The way that we conduct ourselves, whether we receive praise from other people or not, we honor God. All our privileges and salvation come from the free mercy of God but to fully enjoy them depends on our sincere and holy behaviors and attitudes.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9

The God of Miracles

“I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?” Psalm 77:1-9.

The writer went through an experience which many of us have had, or will have at some time or another in living the life of faith. Here is a man who faced a very distressing circumstance which sent him flying to God for help. He tells how he prayed and wept and tried to meditate on God all night long, but, to his great distress, he received no help at all from God. As a consequence, doubts began to rise in his heart. He almost lost his faith. Eventually, he finds his way back to greater faith and trust in God than ever before.

God has declared His strength among the people. What God has done for his church has been a standing declaration of his almighty power. God brought Israel out of Egypt in the great Exodus. This was the beginning of mercy to them, and was remembered yearly by them in the Passover: “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Psalm 77:14.

We would be wise to worship God. The pure in heart shall see God. Pure worship is exalting God for who He is and what He has done. Pure worship is the way to understanding God's heart. When we worship, we enter into His sanctuary. In the holy place we understand our God, and we can know that all His ways are just and right. We must have fellowship with holiness if we would understand the way God relates to man: “Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?” Psalm 77:13.

We all have doubt from time to time of God’s great power and ability. We might think He won’t do great things like He does for others. Doubt makes us think God doesn’t hear our prayers. The answers we seek don’t come the way we expect, and God’s timing, well, seems to take way too long. When we doubt creeps in, and without delay, we are wise to turn our hearts and minds to what God has done: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11-12.

The remaining section found in the 77^th chapter of Psalm, goes on to tell of the Parting of the Red Sea, another miracle from God, our faithful Deliverer. Never stop believing God will help you overcome your biggest obstacles. With God on your side, He will help you conquer all your valleys, deserts, mountains, and storms.  

Fellowship: Supernatural Bonding

Christian fellowship exists only from God the Father, through Jesus the Son, by and in the Spirit, an established relation, a "new covenant" of grace with the body of Christ followers. Therefore, those who believe in the gospel of the resurrection are united in the Spirit through the Son to the Father: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10.

This new established relation leads to the reality of a relatedness (united and joined) experienced relationship, a "communion" between man and God: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” Colossians 2:13.

Those who are followers of Jesus Christ are in communion with Him, and the Father, in the Spirit but also with one another. This relatedness, relationship, and communion therefore is fellowship: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35.

Christian fellowship is a practical reality. We cannot practice all of Jesus’ commands by ourselves. We need other people to be obedient Jesus followers. We need fellowship with other followers to grow. We are co-workers in Christ: “Love one another” John 13:34. “Serve one another” Galatians 5:13. “Be patient with one another” Mark 9:50. “Accept one another” Romans 15:7. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” Ephesians 4:32. “Do not speak against one another” James 4:11. “Confess your sins to one another” James 5:16. 

Fellowship is needed, therefore required. Based on the encouragement which is in Christ, the comfort which comes from the unity that comes by and in the Spirit, and the kindness and gentleness from Christ-like followers, we are commanded to live a certain way. We are to live in love and harmony, not only because of natural friendship for one another, but because of our divine responsibilities as members of the household of God. Fellowship is supernatural bonding, with Christ as the foundation. This is why Paul's appeal for unity begins by focusing upon relationship in Christ, not relationship towards one another:

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2. 

All Together Now

Throughout the world the universal meaning of “one” is unity. In the Bible, “one” symbolizes unity and primacy (the state of being first), and the oneness of the Godhead, also referred to as the trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). 

God has revealed true wisdom to us by His Spirit. No one can know the things of God, but the Holy Spirit, who is one with the Father and the Son, and who makes known Divine mysteries to His people:

“These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10-11.

The apostles were not guided by worldly principles. They had understanding of these things only from the Spirit of God. These things they declared in plain, simple words taught by the Holy Spirit, completely different from the language of man's wisdom:

“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” 1 Corinthians 2:12-13.

Unconverted men are called carnal. They are represented as of a carnal mind, which is enmity against God: “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace, the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Romans 8:6-8.

Carnal behavior is giving into the lusts, the wants and desires of man's sinful nature. The canal man does not receive the secrets and mysteries of the Spirit of God. Prideful, worldly reasoning is a stranger to the Spirit of God and opposed to God’s ways:

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-15.

Only the Spirit filled man, does God give the knowledge of his will. The awesome privilege of unity in Christ, is that we have the mind of Christ revealed to us by His Spirit. We can therefore experience His life changing power in our hearts, producing the fruit of the Spirit in one accord: “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Psalm 6

We are born with a sinful nature therefore inclined to sin. The Bible continually says that salvation is found only from the Lord. The hope for deliverance and restoration can only be reached by mercy and mercy is shown vividly with those who have gotten off track.

David is often referred as “a man after God’s own heart.” In the 6^th chapter of Psalms we can see why he earned that notoriety. David was troubled, his whole soul was pouring out with remorse. His heart ached and his mind perplexed to the point where even his bones caused him agony. His pain and suffering brought him to total brokenness that seems to have no end. David is so humbled he fills his bed with tears late into the night. He heart cries out for mercy and healing, the relief that only the Father can give:

“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.” Psalm 6:1-7.

Having made his request known to God, David is confident that his sorrow will be turned into joy. Like David, and without doubt, we can know that our prayers are accepted, and in God’s perfect timing will be answered. God loves a humble heart! David prayers are accepted by way of the Mediator and Lord Jesus Christ. The Word conveys that prayers made to God, who is the righteous Judge and the provider of righteousness, pleads our case and who rights the wrongs.  As believers, through the blood and righteousness of Christ, we can go to God and plead with Him our case for pardon and renewal. Praise God He is just and faithful to grant us both! And because of this great gift we are to pray for our enemies and hope for their salvation:

“Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.” Psalm 6:7-10. 

Shame is a result of pride. The first book of Corinthians, chapter 13, is known as the love chapter. It shows us a better way, the most excellent way. A man after God’s own heart is humble and directed by his remorse and sorrow, rather than shame, when a relationship has been damaged. Humbleness is focused on the other person. Remorse and sorrow seeks peace and healing in a hurting relationship: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6.

The Lord is God

Joel means “The Lord is God.” We don’t know a lot about Joel. He was a prophet and probably a priest. The book bearing his name reveals he was called to interpret the events happening in the nation of Judah. A plague of locusts had devoured every green thing, leaving nothing but desolation. The plague was no accident, God had sent them. But as devastating as the locust plague was, God’s impending judgment would be even more severe. Joel reminds the people that the Lord is God and that He is in control. Joel challenged the people to wake up and realize the consequences they would experience if they continued to rebel and disobey:

“The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” Joel 2:11.

The message of Joel warns of God’s judgment of sin but also that God pours out His blessing to repentive hearts. Joel gave them hope if they humbled themselves, turn their hearts toward him, repenting from sin. Only then would God will heal them and their land:

“Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may return and have pity and leave behind a blessing - grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.” Joel 2:13-14.  

The people in Joel’s day are no different than the people living today; people are resistant to coming back to God. For some, they think it’s just too late for them; they wandered off track too far and it’s now too late to turn back. Some people just go through the motions; they change some outer aspect of themselves, but their heart is not genuinely seeking God’s heart. Other people think God is done with them; He has written them off and so they think they are beyond hope. God desperately wants to get our attention. He might use locust, or he might use some other unwelcomed method. Even so, His desire is for us to be close to Him and He wants to bless us: 

“His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5.  

God does a great work in our hearts and in our lives. He pours out His Spirit. He renews us, makes us healthy and whole: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten – the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm – my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” Joel 2:25-27.  

The Transforming Power of Knowing God

God is revealed through creation: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and his divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20. 

We know God by his handwork in the heavens: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1. We need only to look to the stars to see they are not by accident. Plants, the weather, depths of the ocean, etc. didn’t just happen. One would have to be taught not to see that God is alive and actively involved in His world. 

The more we get to know God, the more we want to be like him. God gives us the desire to know him and his attributes: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Knowing God reveals the truth about who we really are. We discover He is perfect and we are imperfect. He is strong and we are weak. He is in control and our lives are often fractured with worry and fear: “Woe to me”! I cried, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Isaiah 6:5. When we see ourselves as we really are, the Lord lets us know that we can lean on Him and trust Him to make us like He is.  

Knowing God enables us to understand our world. We don’t have to panic every time we watch the news. He is in touch with our every need and in control of everything, no matter how large or small. Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to find God:” When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” Luke 15:17.

Knowing God makes us stronger and more secure. Even though we face troubles of every kind, we can be sure and confident that God is in control: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelations 5:12.

Knowing God introduces us to the world of His kingdom: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9. When we are born again, the new birth, God gives us insight to His ways. He introduces us to a whole new way of thinking and a new way of living. 

Through prayer and reading and study of the Word we gain a whole new eternal perspective. And that perspective lifts the mind and heart above the present irritations of daily life to be able to see a greater vision and purpose for living. When we know God, we discover that there is no better way to live and that living without him, we are not really living at all.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

Peter lets us know where we can find our hope and our inheritance. We may look elsewhere, but only in Jesus do we find real hope that carries us through this life and the inheritance to what awaits us in the next.

Apart from Jesus there is a false hope. Hope in the world fails, is vain and dead. The natural man finds himself in a state of hopelessness. What he searches for he does not find. But we thank God for his abundant mercy through Jesus, our living hope. Spiritual hope is living; it supports, has strength, is durable, and lasts. In irritations we have hope to be patient and kind. In struggles we have hope to persevere and to press on. In battles we have hope of victory. What awaits us is our hope of spiritual excellence and perfection. The living hope we have while on earth is but a shadow to what will come; the inheritance that will never end:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5.

We rejoice in this living hope but as humans we live in a broken world. There are all sorts of afflictions; temptations, injustice, adversity, pain, and suffering of all kinds. God allows these difficulties to refine us in the fire. Our Christianity depends on our faith. There is nothing else spiritually good in us. A tried faith is more precious than gold. The testing of our faith is a process of purification. Suffering is meant to our advantage, not to our ruin, not meant to destroy but as a probation period. We need to suffer to grow but never longer than is needed. The effect of the trial is to give praise, glory and honor to Jesus Christ. The blessing we are receiving is the joy of salvation; knowing and believing in Jesus as Lord, and the restoration of our souls to which our faith in him is made complete:

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:6-9.

Authentic Worship

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24.

We are no longer under the law but by grace. We share in the glory of the new covenant: “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!” 2 Corinthians 3:7-9.

We don’t worship out of obligation, rites or rituals, rather we worship because we have a deep longing from within our heart in spirit and truth to love and adore God. Authentic worship is to learn his ways and to follow them. Authentic worship glorifies God and lifts him up: “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.” Psalm 9:1.  

God knows the motive of the heart. Authentic worship does not seek the approval or admiration from others, rather authentic worship offers sincere praise, thanks, meditation and prayer: “I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 17:6.

We worship in truth with direct access to God through Jesus Christ. We worship God in the present: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Psalm 16:11.

God is looking for authentic worshippers who will worship him completely wherever they are and all that they do. We don’t worship to make ourselves feel better trying to clear the conscious: “Hear, O Lord, and my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer, it does not rise from deceitful lips.” Psalm 17:1.

We do not worship God while attending church service or meeting only. We worship God in spirit and in truth. The Bible says he is a pure spirit: “The Most High does not live in houses made by human hands” Acts 7:48. “And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” Acts 17:25.

Therefore, authentic worship is what God seeks: pure, holy, spiritual worship. He wants what the soul offers rather than the body. His desire is our honor, respect, admiration, devotion and celebration of the heart rather than from the lips: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of the heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.  

You Got to Serve Somebody

Philemon was a member of the Colossian Church and probably a convert of Paul. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon who robbed his master and fled to Rome and while under Paul’s preaching, was converted. Onesimus had an enormous debt to pay to his master but now he and Philemon had something in common: their shared faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16.

Onesimus understood he had wronged his master and that he needed to make things right with him. Paul becomes the middleman and sends a request to Philemon to welcome his wayward slave back with grace and forgiveness: “I appeal to you on the basis of love. I Paul an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ appeal to you for my son Onesimus who became my son while I was in chains.” Philemon 1:9-10.

This is the same story of every man and woman. We are all wayward slaves who have run away from our Master: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Our guilt was great and the penalty severe: “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. We were not worthy when we were declared Not Guilty! Even though we broke the law, the law didn’t win! We are free from the law of sin and death!

Paul pleas with Philemon: “So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.” Philemon 1:17-18. We need to be reconciled back to God, grace and forgiveness, and we need a mediator to intercede in our behalf: “for there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” 1Timothy 2:5.

Just like Onesimus, we can find ourselves “on the run.” At some point, sin takes its grip and hold on us. We come to a fork in the road and realize the consequences of continuing on the path that ultimately lead to ruin: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6.

Bob Dylan penned the lyrics to the song, “You got to serve somebody.” Paul wrote it like this: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:16-18.