But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind.
James 1:6
Through the power that we have through prayer, we can stay connected to God. Also, we can remain confident in God not forsaking or abandoning us. He doesn’t just hang out with us. He lives within us. That’s spiritual power!
As Christians, we should be willing and able to accept others and their shortcomings with as much love and grace, even forgiveness, as God showed us when He accepted us.#Christian#faith#love#forgiveness#grace#loveyourneighbor
Let your prayers empower you to endure what you fear. Let prayer time encourage you to face what drove you to your knees in the first place. Trust God to enlighten you and equip you for the spiritual battle that you might face with both fear and doubt seeking to sap you of all of your God-given power.
The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?
In Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the magical phrase “Open sesame!” opens the secret hidden cave known as the den of thieves. The phrase has been mimicked and mocked throughout literature and theatre for centuries. It has been used by magicians on stage and children at play. Though many have used that phrase, few doors have been opened due to its usage.
That God looks upon us with enough care and compassion to grant us what no man can take away from us isn’t magical. That’s part of His supernatural power that has the capacity for causing miracles to occur in our lives.
Prayer in Faith is Key to Opening Doors
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
- Matthew 17:19-21 (NIV)
Lack of faith and unbelief subside to the power of God actively working in our lives and before our eyes.
Jesus was doing two different things in this teachable moment with His own disciples.
He was rebuking them for their “so little faith”
He was revealing to them how much power He had actually given over to them if they would just have enough faith, even “faith as small as a mustard seed”
When we pray with faith, we exercise our own God-given power. When we do so, we lean all in upon the Holy Spirit to grant us the strength to accomplish great things. We are endowed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and that makes us powerful, powerful enough to overcome our own unbelief and lack of faith to begin with indeed.
Having the Holy Spirit alive within us, we can open doors through the power of faith. We can cause things to change in the lives of others as well as in our own lives. We have the power to make the seemingly impossible seem unreal as it unravels before the eyes of the unbeliever and a few believers, too.
“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:3, NIV). Paul submitted this prayer request to the believers at Colosse, seeking further opportunities to share the message of Jesus Christ with others. StopAndPrayTV added a video element to explain such open doors. Another blogger on WordPress put it this way: “The purpose of an open door is thus to preach the gospel of Christ and to speak the mystery of Christ.” PK Adams challenges us to rethink our outlook as Christians and see that much of this world needs the Word for more conversion to the faith rather than just a generalized labeling by our spiritual stamp of approval. Let’s keep praying for more opportunities to do the work God has called us all to do by sharing the Good News.
Prayer Challenge Reflections
This September allowed for us to engage in a 30-Day Prayer Challenge again. There were quite a few lessons learned as we worked throughout the month to remain prayerful. Personally, I found myself more vigilant about staying the course for 30 days since last year’s prayer challenge found me fighting off the spiritual attack that comes with endeavoring to do more by faith.
Prayer isn’t light work.
We need to consecrate
We need to concentrate
Problems will arise one way or another and in one form or another.
Prepare for problems (as much as you can)
Pray about problems (as much as you can)
Your prayer time is about the connection between both God and you.
Release from you to God (requests/ supplications/ petitions)
Even if we have done wrong and stand in need of His protection, God can help us.
He just desires to hear from us. He just desires that we spoke openly with Him about our need for Him as our Father. The Father desires to hear His children say it and get it off their hearts.
Pray that He watches over you throughout your comings and goings.
I haven’t just been twiddling my thumbs while praying about my ministry and business. I have been actively engaging and embarking on taking further steps with both.
I recently had a chat with Allan G from Motherland located in San Diego, California, and we discussed some things about business and building community through collaboration. Check out the video via YouTube or listen to the podcast below. Share comments or thoughts on either platform to let me know how we’re doing.
Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together. – Genesis 22:8
God as the Provider (Jehovah Jireh) appears first in Genesis. It stems from the part of Genesis where Abraham had to show his faith in God when called to sacrifice his chosen son Isaac. According to Wikipedia: “In the Book of Genesis, Jehovah-jireh or Yahweh Yireh was the location of the binding of Isaac, where Yahweh told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham named the place after God provided a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac.”
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. – Psalm 145:16
As believers, we must continually ask for and accept what God provides us in our lives.
He doesn’t have to give us anything. Yet, He continuously gives us what we don’t deserve, blessing us beyond our own belief.
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. – Psalm 37:25 (KJV)
Pray earnestly for God’s provision. Pray that He continues to supplies your daily needs and necessities. Pray that God’s provision allows you to prosper and grow closer to God as you use His provision to bless others. Pray that God stands out in your life as your provider, as your Jehovah Jireh. Pray for Him to provide for you and your needs, but also pray that He provides you with the stewardship to handle His provision as one trusted with such a blessing.
He got away from everybody else to go to God in prayer.
Consider His example and how that might look in your daily life.
Is it a secluded part of your home, away from family and pets for a moment with God? Is it a private space at a park or on a mountainside?
Find your place for private time with God in prayer.
Personal Time with God
Your private time with God is your personal time with God.
Take a moment and think about what Jesus could have been praying about while alone with God. Think about what He might have been sharing with God after healing and feeding many people, teaching about the kingdom of God to the multitudes, and sharing lessons with His own disciples as He was tested by Pharisees and others.
Use your private time with God to get in touch with God. Get deep and personal with God. Allow yourself to get vulnerable with God. Speak openly with God. Ask what you have to ask of God. Confess what you need to confess to God.
Confess to Him.
Call upon Him.
Cry out to Him.
Commune with Him.
It is your personal time with God and make the most of it.
". . . we must earnestly, sacrificially, and prayerfully strive to be empowered with that same power that came upon them."
- A.W. Tozer, Life in the Spirit
Earnest, Sacrificial, and Always Prayerful
Tozer spoke of the need for constant prayer from the teachers and members of the “redeemed Body of which Christ is the Head” in an earlier passage. He was adamant about such prayer in practice in order for “any church to be a church of Christ.” He said that such a pursuit in practice must be earnest, sacrificial, and constant with prayer.
Earnest
In layman’s terms, earnest means sincere and intense conviction. According to the Bible, for one to be considered earnest means to be ardent in pursuit of an object or goal. In other words, to be earnest is to be zealous.
“And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 217, KJV). The zeal of the faithful believer is consuming. His or her heart is filled with an intense level of conviction for God’s agenda. Such an individual desires to see the kingdom of God come about. This type of earnest individual is driven by a deep internal conviction to work towards the kingdom of God coming to fruition.
We need to be more earnest in our lives as we serve the Lord daily.
Sacrificial
What types of sacrifices have you made for the sake of the Lord?
He sacrificed for your salvation. He paid the penalty for our sins with His own life. As Isaiah reminded us through his prophecy recorded ages before the Messiah’s advent, His sacrifice healed us.
God desires you to make sacrifices. He has shown us the way.
God desires to see you make sacrifices in your life for His namesake.
Always Prayerful
I used to always wonder how in the world could Paul really expect anybody to “pray without ceasing” (1 Th. 5:17). It always baffled me how that three-word sentence just sat right there in the middle of this spiritual to-do list for believers. I just didn’t see how that could be a reasonable expectation for believers, especially for those who were just coming into the faith and a personal understanding of what it meant to be a Christian.
Then life happened.
Through the trials and tests of personal experience, I became more accustomed to having to remain in constant prayer. While under spiritual attack, you have to pray constantly.
“Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)
It is not as difficult as I once thought. It is a simple practice.
It is not too much to ask. It is a personal commitment.
It isn’t a burdensome thing. It provides us communion with God.
It is a simple three-word command.
It provides us a personal connection with God.
“Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)
Empty yourself of all that is plaguing you and bothering you. Pour out the burdens weighing down your soul. Open your mouth and unleash the very things that have you holding back tears and stuck in an emotional valley of sadness and worry.
Just get it all off your chest.
Tell God the things that you won’t tell your loved ones. Tell Him what is deeply rooted within your heart. Tell Him how much you fear what’s coming up. Share with God how much you dread the feeling of the aftermath of anything that has transpired lately.
Open your mouth and get it off your chest.
Get it Off Your Mind
Once you get it off your chest, get it off your mind.
Don’t drag that dread into the rest of the day.
You did one of the best things that you could do with such situations. You’ve taken it to God and told it to God. Now, what you truly need to do is trust it to God. Trust God to handle it like He knows best. He knows better than us how to handle any situation.
You’ve gotten it off your chest.
Now do your very best to get it off your mind.
Give it Over to God
Don’t try to hold onto what God can handle better than you.
What we need to see is that there are resources out there among the people of faith. These resources are provided to help us. These resources are here to help us get better at getting closer to God.
In your hands lie your destination The book of true life you hold the key Mystical powers to you unfold Seek ye the half that has never been told Get behind me satan Get behind me satan I’ve got chant (Chant a psalm a day) I want to chant (Chant a psalm a day) I’ve got chant (Chant a psalm a day) I want to chant (Chant a psalm a day)
“Chant a Psalm” by Steel Pulse
The Prayer Book of the Bible
The Book of Psalms has been called many things. It has been considered the Hymn Book of the Bible by some. However, the Book of Psalms has also been seen as the Prayer Book of the Bible as well.
The Book of Psalms is full of prayers. It contains numerous prayers by multiple authors. David isn’t the only one who wrote psalms in the form of prayer. But authorship isn’t the only indicator of the strength of psalms as prayers.
Pray a Psalm (Chant a Psalm)
Reggae artists Steel Pulse shared “Chant a Psalm” and their album “True Democracy” in 1982. The lyrics shared here in this post show the power contained within the psalms. It wasn’t a major hit in the U.S. upon its release. It wasn’t a major hit among evangelicals either. Yet, the song still echoes the sentiments of one who finds the psalms found in the Bible to serve as motivation for staying true to developing a relationship with God through His Word.
It is through such devotion and spiritual connection to God’s Word that we as believers uphold our daily commitment to come before God with open hearts. Such a daily devotion to seeking God can serve as a catalyst for us to remain rooted in God’s Word while engaging in prayer.
As E.M. Bounds once said, “Prayer is humbling work.” We cannot get beside ourselves and lose touch with God. We need to stay connected to God through both prayer and His Word. Even the Serenity Prayer gives us a perspective of how to be humbled by our own time with God in prayer.
Open up the Book of Psalms. Read aloud one of the prayers found in the Book of Psalms with all the strength that you can muster. Stand on the sandy shores of the ocean or the rocky edges of a mountainside, taking in the majestic handiwork of God, letting the words of a prayer from Psalms cross your lips and enter into the atmosphere.
Matthew 21:22 can be misunderstood as to say that we automatically receive whatever we desire when we ask God for it. That is not what Jesus said.
Asking is the petition made to God from our hearts. Just simply asking isn’t the answer. Asking alone doesn’t lead to us receiving blessings from God.
Belief is the key factor in prayer.
Ask and believe.
Don’t allow your prayers to go up without believing in your heart that what you’re seeking from God is of God and within His will.
God’s answers are available. His ability is awesome and mighty. He’s awaiting our unbelief to be turned into true faithfulness churned by a high degree of belief in Him.
He was in prison, but he was writing to these folks in Ephesus in order to encourage them.
I know. I know. It seems backwards. It’s like they should have been rallying the congregation to launch Paul’s Pen Pals as a prison outreach ministry or stirring up the community with the hashtag #FreePaulNow or something like that.
But that wasn’t the case.
Paul sought to offer these believers encouragement in their time of spiritual need.
Hindsight and Headlights
Having the Scriptures at hand offers us hindsight. It is said that hindsight is 20/20, and it is especially so with God’s people when we look back upon the figures of the Bible. People say that Aaron should’ve known better than to make that golden calf at the behest of the people. People see the acts of Judas in the Gospels and say how much they would never do such a thing if they were in the presence of the Lord in the flesh. [Oh, Really? But we all can join like a choir when we talk about how ALL have sinned and fallen short according to Romans 3:23. I just can’t with our holy hindsight at times. It makes us sound so self righteous.]
That holy hindsight has us looking down on folks in the Hall of Faith. That holy hindsight has us speculating on the saints of God of the past. That holy hindsight does not allow us to look deeper within and see where we, too, are not worthy enough to drink of the cup. It doesn’t make us keep a realistic perspective on our own status.
Headlights help us to see what’s up ahead. Hindsight is like the rearview mirror. Ot helps you see the past. Headlights help you to see what’s ahead as their light penetrates the darkness and provides a view of the upcoming pathway.
But we have these headlights shining upon the pathway ahead while we’re looking in the rearview. They shed light on our way so that we can walk. But we’ve got our necks cocked to the side, still pointing out that moment in the past where Joseph’s brothers made a mistake or even Solomon had a mishap. We can’t go too fast on the journey through the darkness if we try to look back too long or if we try to look beyond the headlights.
Help from Prison
Paul was writing to these believers in Ephesus on how to use their headlights. He wanted them to tap into “the strength of the Lord and the power of his might.” He understood that they would need those two for where they were headed.
On this 10th day of our 30-Day Prayer Challenge for 2022, I realize how much the demonic forces want to prevent and prohibit us from experiencing God’s power. Don’t fall prey to the satanic attack or the demonic devices.
We’re one-third of the way through with this prayer challenge and this leg of a long journey with the Lord if we do not grow faint. And that makes us targets for such an attack.
Stand firm “in the strength of the Lord and the power of his might.”
Do not allow yourself to be defeated by these demonic devices.
Do not allow yourself to these satanic schemes.
Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
Stand firm.
Tap into His power through continued prayer and stand firm against all attacks coming your way.
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