Tag: prayer

We Are All Called to Be Laborers in the Field

John 14:12
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Most of us will never set foot on foreign soils in an effort to win souls. Nor will we step to a podium to stir a great revival. So what are these greater works that we will do when we believe in Jesus?

The answer is certainly different for each one of us as God has created each of us with a unique plan for our lives. In our own individual ways we will be called to be laborers in the field bringing light to the world of darkness around us. We may be called to be ushers, parking attendants, babysitters, etc. We may be called to serve the poor. We may be called to lead a bible study. Who knows, we may even be called to a ministry of healing and deliverance. But in all of the various ways that we are called, there will always be one element of our works that will be the same and that is the work of prayer.

Jesus was our role model is this regard. He never attempted any work without going to the Father first in prayer. Prayer was one of His greater works as He went to the Father to have His power and His purpose released. Now that Jesus is with the Father as Our Mediator, one could argue that prayer is the greatest work that we will do as we call on Jesus to go to the Father on our behalf.

Let us call on Jesus to go to the Father to have His power and His purpose for us released in our lives. Let us faithfully seek the greater works that the Lord has set aside for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us vessels for Your perfect Light to be released in the darkness of the world around us. We bless the name of Jesus for showing us the way in which we should approach the purpose for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we can share in Your good work by accessing through prayer the power and authority of Your Son. We pray, Father, that the greater works of the Son will be released in our lives as we seek You and surrender to Your plan for our lives through our prayers. We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

Living in the Fullness of the Presence of God

Mark 9:2
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain so that they could experience the fullness of His glory. Jesus wanted His disciples to be prepared for the bitter agony that was ahead. He wanted them to have the strength of the promise of the kingdom experience to carry them through the suffering that they would also experience in the future.

Each of us will experience moments in the presence of God. It may be through a vision, a dream, a visitation or perhaps a quiet word whispered in our spirit when we are in prayer or worshiping Him. Each such moment is meant to lift us from our day-to-day lives in the flesh to our eternal lives in the kingdom of God.

Just as the disciples were not allowed to remain in the presence of the glorified Christ, neither are we allowed to stay in the precious moments of Our Lord’s visitation. The Lord simply uses these precious moments to show us the unimaginable promise of our futures in His kingdom and to give us the strength to endure the suffering we will encounter as we prepare to be with Him for all eternity.

Let us treasure those precious moments when the Lord reveals Himself to us. Let us hold on to and learn to leverage the power of His presence even though the experience seems to fade away from us over time.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the treasured moments that You grant us in Your presence. We praise You for those times that You become so real to us. We exalt Your name for the grace that You provide during these intimate exchanges that are beyond our normal earthly expectations. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will stand by us as we leave the high mountain of Your presence and return to the valley where we struggle in our ways of the flesh. May Our Comforter help us keep the fullness of the joy and the hope of Your presence with us always. May the world know that we are living in the fullness of the presence of Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Savior, Jesus Christ.

Rejoicing in Our Trials as We are Prepared to Comfort Others in Their Suffering

2 Corinthians 1:4
Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God’s Holy Word teaches us that we should rejoice in our trials because they are the building blocks of character in our lives. They certainly do build character and perseverance in our lives if we turn to the Lord to get us through the challenges we face.

But beyond the character building in our trials, there is an entirely different dimension that we benefit from. We not only gain in character, but we gain more – much more. We gain life experiences that we are able to share with others who find themselves going through the same thing. God prepares us to be comforters for others in their time of need.

Our past experiences give us the foundation for offering faith and hope. It is our obligation to make suitable returns for what we received by comforting others. It is our duty to join them in prayer, praise and thanksgiving as we seek a good end to their trials and ours through Jesus Christ.

Let us turn to our model, our suffering King, Jesus Christ as we face the trials of life. Let us grasp our cup of trembling with the same resolve and confident hope that Jesus did as He faced the Cross. Let us learn to rejoice in the face of suffering for we are being prepared to comfort others in their suffering.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the consolations and comfort that we find when we turn to Your Son, Jesus, in our times of need. We bless the name of Jesus for the abundance of all of the fruits of His sufferings that are poured out in a greater amount than our own suffering, providing us relief from our distress and trouble. Lord, we pray that You build our faith and hope through our trials, so that we may be comforters for those in our lives who are going through their own trials. May it all be for the glory of Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the One who suffered all on our behalf, Jesus Christ.

God Considers Our Vulnerability Before Answering Our Prayers

Matthew 7:9
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Prayer is an appointed means for obtaining what we need. We are commanded in the Holy Word to pray often and to be persistent in praying for our needs. Almighty God promises to hear our prayers in order to fulfill our needs in accordance with His will for our lives. If this were not so, then we would not be instructed to make praying a daily habit.

We may become frustrated when it seems that God is not answering our prayers. On the other hand, we have many examples in our daily lives that illustrate how “no” and “not now” are perfectly proper answers. As parents, one of our most important tasks is to train our children to become highly functioning adults. Thus, when our children reach the driving age and ask to start driving, we should be ready to take on the job of teaching them to drive. If, however, we know they are not mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving, our answer should be “no” or “not now”. While our commitment to them is to train them in new life skills, our more pressing commitment is to insure their protection when they are vulnerable.

While the Lord promises to hear and answer all of our prayers of need, His promises are bound by the higher covenant of preparing us for our eternal life in heaven with Him. So while He always hears our prayers, sometimes His answers will be “no” or “not now.” Each case will be determined by Him based on where we are on the path of sanctification and spiritual growth. He will answer us perfectly, in perfect timing in accordance with His will for our lives. He will apply the same principles in the lives of others when we are praying for what we perceive to be their needs.

Let us rebuke the need for immediate gratification in our lives. Let us learn the value of waiting on the Lord. As we wait, let us praise Him for His perfect answers and His perfect timing in all things.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing and answering all of our prayers. We thank You that You often protect us by not giving us what we ask for when it will take us off the path that You have set aside for our lives. We pray for the strength to endure when Your “no” or Your “not now” seems so painful. We ask, Lord, that You help us to keep seeking You so that our prayers will come into alignment with Your will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of our mighty and all sufficient provider, Jesus Christ.

Promises to Those That Pray in a Secret Place

Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Without question, one of Satan’s greatest skills is his ability to keep us distracted from building our relationship with God by keeping us focused on the business of life. One of his greatest lies is planting the seed in our minds that God does not want to hear about everything in our lives. Through the perfect work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can turn both of Satan’s tactics against him.

The first thing that we should do each day in the privacy of the morning is to invite the Holy Spirit to join us throughout the day. Then everything public in our busy lives will be marked by His presence. Everything that comes our way as a challenge or a trial can be handed to Him immediately through brief and constant prayer.

Because through the Holy Spirit, we have already given Jesus the burdens of life throughout the day, in the evening we can shut the door on all the cares of the day. Those cares are no longer there to distract us as we try to pray at night because they are in Jesus’ hands, not ours. Instead of focusing on our cares, we are free to focus on Our God. We can worship Him, we can praise Him and we can soak in His love. We can grow in our relationship with Him according to His good and perfect plan for our lives.

Let us learn to slam the door on the daily trials and distractions that life brings our way. Let us claim the rewards that Our Father in heaven promises us for going to Him in secret. Let us give all of our burdens to Jesus in the morning and thank Him and praise Him in the evening.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Holy Spirit to be the helper that we can call on to make our burdens light. We rejoice in His presence with us throughout the day and night. We pray for the wisdom and the grace to release our cares and concerns to Our Savior throughout the day. With our burdens in Jesus mighty hands, we ask, Lord, that You teach us how to come to You without distraction in the evening. May we learn to spend our private prayer time in the evening growing in our relationship with You and refreshing ourselves for the next day to be spent in the yoke of Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of the One who lightens our burdens, Jesus Christ.

Bringing Comfort, Hope and Joy to the World Around Us

Philemon 1:21
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his slave, Onesimus, who had run away. Paul also asked Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ. The law gave Philemon the right to deal with his runaway slave harshly. Paul was asking Philemon to go beyond the law and respond with an act of brotherly love.

God’s call on each of our lives is unique. While He gives all of us His Holy Word and the Ten Commandments to follow, He sets aside specific directives for each of us to follow. He places these callings on our heart. He wants to see our obedience to Him. It is for His glory. It is for the gain of His kingdom here on earth and in heaven. When we follow God’s calling, it is certain that our obedience will provide favor in our lives beyond anything that we see or imagine.

But we should strive to go beyond the things that we are called to. We should open our hearts and our minds to find ways to give joy to one another. We should look around to see who among us is hurting, struggling or simply in need of a kind gesture. Let us find ways to comfort one another and bring joy to one another. We should exhaust every measure to bring hope to others. But if in no other way, we should abound in prayer for everyone.

If obedience to the law brings us unimagined favor, what will we receive for going beyond the law? Just as Paul was confident in Philemon, Jesus is confident that His disciples will do even more than He asks. He is waiting to richly reward those that love and serve the world.

Let us take up the Cross of Jesus Christ, who gave His all for all of mankind. Let us model the servant King. Let us show the world the love of the One who dwells within us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to serve You. We know that You will provide Your favor and protection when we follow your Holy Word and your Commandments and the callings that You place on our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity. Gracious Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit reveal to us the areas where You are calling us in obedience to serve you. We ask for an overflowing of the love of Our Savior in our lives so that we will be founts of comfort, joy and hope to those that are in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

The Only Path That Fulfills God’s Plan for Our Salvation

Mark 14:34
And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”

Through Jesus, we receive the exchanged life of joy for the old life of sin and its miserable consequences. Jesus paid a great price for our redemption. He suffered physically, mentally and emotionally to go to the Cross for us. He knew in advance the bodily torments, the agonizing death and the inconceivable burden of the weight of the sins of all men that He would suffer. To secure our redemption, He chose the only path that fulfilled God’s plan for our salvation.

As Jesus approached His time of great suffering, He was very sorrowful. He was feeling the full agony of knowing that He would be taking on the burden of all sin. His suffering was so great that He took Peter, James and John with Him to stand by Him in prayer as He prayed for strength in His most awful time of distress. Three times He left the apostles to pray. Each time He asked them to remain and watch. Each time He found them asleep when He returned. The apostles in their weakness were not able to provide Jesus with the support that He requested as He prepared to take on His Cross. But even though the apostles left Jesus to take on the Cross alone, Jesus was given the strength that He needed by the Holy Spirit.

Ultimately, we must choose to take up the Cross of Jesus Christ. We must choose the way of Christ or the way of sin. This is an impossible decision for us to make on our own. Just like the apostles, our flesh is too weak. But like Jesus, we have the power and the strength that we need to overcome sin because the Holy Spirit stands by us and prepares our hearts to take our victory over sin.

Let us strive to live the joyous life of holiness. Let us be watchful and persistent in fending off the oppressive life of sin. Let us seek the Holy Spirit to stand by us and strengthen us as we walk on our paths of sanctification.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. We praise the name of Jesus who chose to take all the sorrow and grief that He endured on our behalf. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who guided us in choosing to accept Jesus as Our Savior, so that we might overcome the sin in our lives that separates us from You. We pray for wisdom to always seek the strength and the counsel available to us through the Holy Spirit that stands on watch against sin with us. We ask all these things in the name of the Slain Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Blessing the People in Our Lives

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once we received our salvation, we were called out of the darkness offered by the world. We were placed into the living light of Jesus Christ. We were called to become priests to spread His light to the world around us. We were called to intercede on the behalf of others so that they may be taken out of the darkness into the light.

In Numbers, we read that the Lord instructed Moses to have the priests, Aaron and his sons, to bless the people in the following way: “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile upon you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.”

These are the blessings that we should desire for those around us when we have accepted our calling into the royal priesthood. As we abide in Jesus, these are the blessings that we should take before the Lord without stopping in intercession for those around us that are in need. We should prayerfully seek nothing but the best of what God has to offer for all of the people in our lives.

Let us pick up our priestly mantle. Let us stand before the throne of God proclaiming the excellencies of Our Savior. Let us call on His Holy Spirit to intercede for all of those who God has placed in our lives. Let us become light to a world that is living in darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking us out of the darkness of the world and making us part of Your royal priesthood. We praise the name of Jesus who guides us in our priestly duties. May we learn to bless the people in our lives through our prayers and through our living testimony. We ask all these things in the name of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

Pursuing the Father’s Promises for Our Children

Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

No other time in history has produced such a blatant spiritual attack against our children. The indoctrination of the enemy is starting in some school systems as early as pre-K. The constant peer pressure on our pre-teens and teens is continuous. Satan is viciously consistent in his efforts to destroy our families and in his efforts to destroy the lives of our children.

We must be diligent in praying a hedge of protection around our children. We have the power of protecting them through our prayers. Our Heavenly Father promises us that He will pour out His Spirit on our descendants and pour out His blessings on our children.

No matter what circumstances that our children may be in, we must not believe the lies of Satan. We must hold to the promises of Our Father. We must never give in to the evil work of the devil who will urge us to give up on our children. Satan will do all that he can do to discourage our efforts to pray for our children because he knows the power that we access and release when we pray for our children.

Let us be resolute in fighting the good fight on the behalf of our children. Let us continuously pray a hedge of protection around them. Let us proclaim the promises of Our Lord that He will return our children to us and, most importantly, that He will return our children to Himself.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing our prayers of protection for our children. Thank you for providing a way for us to shield our children from the enemy who is set on destroying them. Strengthen us, Lord, that we may never falter in covering our children with our prayers. We rejoice in knowing that You will reward us for our diligent, prayerful efforts on behalf of our children. We cling to Your promise to return our children to the land that You have set aside for them. We ask all these things in the name of Our Refuge from the Storm, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is Preparing a Place for Us in His Father’s House

Luke 11:9
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

In this passage, we find a solemn declaration and promise made by Jesus Himself. The declaration rests on His authority. He makes the statement with the boldness of knowing it is true. He opens the way for us to ask for food for the body and nourishment for our souls and He promises that for those that act in accordance with His counsel shall find their requests satisfied.

When we knock at Jesus’ door, seeking Him, our lives are changed forever. Once we have accepted Him as Our Savior, we are new men and women in Christ. We are new people who are faced with the eye-opening need to let our old selves die, so that our new selves are properly prepared to be in the presence of Our Lord.

Once we establish our relationship with Him, we will be in a place that is greater than anything we have ever experienced before. We will never want to leave that relationship. To stay there, we will find that we are forever humbled by our need to cleanse ourselves. We will find that the experience of first meeting Him is the beginning of our preparation for being in His presence for all eternity.

Let us knock on the door of heaven and let Jesus know that we desire to have an intimate relationship with Him. Let us humbly accept being yoked to Him. Let us learn to surrender to the fullness of living in His presence each day. Let us joyfully anticipate the eternal resting place that He is preparing for us in His Father’s house.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we humbly bow before You. We thank You that we are allowed to approach Your throne because Your Son, Jesus, has prepared the way for us. Make us forever mindful of His sacrifice which washed away our sins for all eternity. Open our eyes to see the sins that remain in our lives so that we may ask forgiveness of them and repent of them. May Your Holy Spirit guide us in continuously seeking the presence of Your Son in our lives. May we find all we need in Him. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord God Omnipotent, Jesus Christ.