A Prayer to Keep God in the Center at Christmas

"The biggest battle we each might fight is to stay focused on God long enough to learn to abide in His presence. Before we can redeem the world, we must redeem our time. And we would think that with all the time saving conveniences we have in life, that this would be easy but it is not." - Francis Frangipane

It's easy to miss what is most important during this time of year. With shopping for Christmas presents, festive parties, children's plays, decorating and baking, we can so often feel stressed and exhausted. During the time when we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and want to abide in His presence, we can so easily miss time spent with Him. Making prayer and God's Word a priority in our life during this Christmas season can be difficult. But if we make it our aim to glorify Jesus right in the midst of everything, He can help us to redeem the time in many varied and unusual ways. We can never lose out if we choose to stop and ask Him to enter into our busy holiday lives.

God is calling us to live a focused and dedicated life. A focused life is not scattered in many directions because of the distractions. It always moves to the center even in the busiest times because it is like a magnet attracted to Jesus, knowing that He alone is the one who makes everything work when priorities are in order. God knows that it's difficult and our temptation is to get too busy. We want to concentrate on God's best during this holiday season and not let the good things steal our relationship with Him. Let us remember that prayer and abiding in his presence are of utmost importance to Him.

When feeling overwhelmed with all the work, I encourage you to stop and pray short breath prayers to God throughout the day: "I need You." "I want to abide in You." "Help me Jesus to live for You today." "I worship You." The following prayer will help you and your family to keep God and His Word at the center of your life. You may want to pray it daily and print it for each member of your family, especially when faced with the holiday pressures and the temptation to lose God's peace, joy, and love.

A Prayer to Keep God in the Center at Christmas

Lord, We worship You during this Christmas season. You are our wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). We choose to put You at the center of our family life as we celebrate Your birth. Keep us from distractions and help us to invite You into all our family activities. Teach us to pray and help us to glorify and worship You in our family during this busy time of year. Give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation that we might know You better (Ephesians 1:17).

Thank you for being Immanuel, “God with us.” Open our eyes to realize this each day as we interact with others. Help us to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as You forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Show us creative ways to love and care for those outside our home. Fill us to overflowing with Your love for the lost. Teach us to do acts of kindness to those who are in need at this time of year. May our family be a refreshment and light to others. We ask You to touch with salvation those in our family who do not know You [Name those individuals]. Open their hearts to Your great love for them. Help us to share Your Truth and be Your light. You are the Savior of the world.

We love Your Word and choose to make it central in our family life. Your Word is alive and active—It’s sharper than any double-edged sword—It judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). We long to align ourselves spiritually with You and Your Word every day. We want to pray your Word with Your authority, and with greater faith and obedience in our lives as we approach this New Year. We rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. We meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. We delight in Your decrees. We will not neglect Your Word. Open our eyes that we may see wonderful things in Your law. We run in the path of Your commands, for You have set our hearts free (Psalm 119:14-16, 18, 32).

Lord, we want to be passionate about the things you are passionate about. Help each member of our family to be a student of the Bible. Teach us to pray Your Word out loud in our family devotions in such a way that we see mighty spiritual breakthroughs in our home, friends, school, and workplace. Help us declare prophetic promises and decrees from Your Word. We want to experience the life-giving power of Your Word on a daily basis in our family. Show us truth in Your Word, and bring it to life through our prayers. Open the eyes of our hearts that we may be enlightened in order to know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of our glorious inheritance in You and Your incomparable great power (Ephesians 1:18-19). In Jesus’ name, amen.

“For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord! (Luke 2:10-11).

May you have a peaceful, joyful and blessed Christmas with God at the center of all your family activities as you celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am praying for you and God is crazy about you...

Merry Christmas

How to Stand Strong in Steadfast Authority in Prayer

“Many in the church today are being held captive spiritually, not because of the enemy’s power, but because we do not clearly understand our authority and calling in Christ...  As we begin to understand the hope of His calling, we will begin to walk in an abundant life of freedom and power.” Angie Weaver

Most Christians do not exercise the tremendous authority they have in Christ. He can enforce His will, but He limits His dealings on earth by working through His people. He does not want us to passively stand by and watch the earth fall into decay (Psalm 8:4-6, 115:16). But if we were to evaluate the situation, isn’t this what many Christians are doing? How many of us exercise our authority? This needs to change in the coming days.
     
God has given us authority on earth to rule. It may not feel like it, but it’s true. He does nothing on earth unless he does it through a person. He always intended to rule the earth but through His delegated authority in mankind (Genesis 1:26). We were to carry out the government of the earth, but Adam and Eve gave it away through disobedience. You know the story. Adam transferred authority over the earth to Satan (Luke 4:4, 2 Corinthians 4:4). All of mankind was then under his dominion. God did not give Satan authority over the earth, Adam did.

We needed someone to stand between us, and Satan, in order to break that dominion. Jesus was the only one who could. He came as a man completely fulfilling God’s will and became our intercessor - the one who could join us to God again and break Satan’s headship over us (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus purchased us with his blood (Revelation 5:9, 1 Timothy 2:5) and not only restored us to God, He became the way that God could again have dominion over the earth (1 Corinthians 15, Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus could now rule in the affairs of earth.

He has given us authority to rule - and through prayer - we exercise this authority in Christ.  

We are called to pray and seek justice on the earth on behalf of others. Not only can we break the personal strongholds in our lives through prayer, but we can impact our cities and nations. The world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Look around and you see this everywhere; drugs, pornography, murder, evil and so on. But we can make a difference. Jesus has authority in heaven and on earth, but since He is no longer on the earth, He rules through his Church. He changes things on earth through us! We must learn to exercise our authority right in the middle of Satan's territory. As we use our authority, we can actually subdue powers and principalities (Ephesians 3:10). Wow!

But how can we walk in authority in the midst of personal, and sometimes unrelenting, spiritual warfare? What are some ways we can stand strong?

Ways to Stand Strong in Steadfast Authority

"Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1).

Abide in Christ - As you abide, you are able to pray the things that are on God’s heart.

Be steadfast in prayer and ready for battle - Know that you are in enemy territory, and you are here to fight for God’s Kingdom in prayer. Watch for those fiery darts, hold up your shield of faith, and put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6).

Stand upon the promises of God - Do not listen to the enemy. Speak God’s promises over your family, neighborhood, city, and nation.

Know and Pray God’s Word - The Bible is filled with Scripture you can pray. Declarative prayer is a key way to exercise your authority in prayer. Try praying Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:3-19.

Focus on God during times of warfare - The enemy will try to discourage you as to your authority. Focus on God instead of the things you see happening in the world. Remember, you have authority in Christ.

Mix praise and prayer together - Worship is the atmosphere where truth dwells. There is power released in worship warfare. God is greater than all enemy attacks.

Practice fasting on a regular basis - Fasting gives you spiritual power and strength to steadfastly stand against the enemy.

Let God’s peace rule in your heart - Come in the opposite spirit of the world system. An attitude of peace and joy in the midst of darkness is powerful (Colossians 3:15).    

Practice taking your authority in prayer, look to Jesus, and realize that God has called you to live in steadfast authority on earth for such a time as this.  

It’s time for the Church of Jesus Christ to arise and aggressively take back land stolen by the enemy. Are you and I going to let the devil control our cities when Jesus died for the entire world? The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalm 24:1). Let’s not forget that. This will be our finest hour if we learn to wield the weapons of warfare and stand in our God-given authority. It’s time to arise and realize the victory we have in Christ. It’s time to arise in steadfast authority in prayer.

A Prayer for Steadfast Authority

“Dear Lord, I thank You for giving Your people authority to rule on earth. Help me to understand the hope of my calling. Teach me to exercise this authority in my life, my city, and my nation. Thank You for becoming my intercessor and breaking Satan’s headship over my life (Isaiah 53:12). Help me to pray and seek justice on the earth on behalf of others. I thank You for giving your people authority to actually subdue powers and principalities (Ephesians 3:10). I choose to reign with You and walk in Your authority. I am called to declare Your authority and rule the earth with You (Revelation 1:6). Through steadfast authority in prayer, I can enforce Your victory on earth (Romans 16:20, Colossians 2:13-15) and fight for the nations (Psalm 2:7). ‘Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle’ (Psalm 144:1). In Jesus’ name, amen.”

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).

God is crazy about you and I am praying for you!



   
    

Why does God love our Intercession?

“Intercession! Would one not say that this is the very holiest exercise of our boldness as God’s children? It is the highest privilege and enjoyment connected to our communion with God. It is the power of being used by God as instruments for His great work of making men His habitation and showing forth His glory.” - Andrew Murray

You may not realize it, but God loves your intercession. You may be right now in the thick of the battle in prayer and may not see any answer or way through. But know this! When you come to God in prayer, it moves His heart deeply. He is seeking for intercessors and for those who will give themselves to prayer. Jesus is the greatest intercessor. He knows what it is to sweat great drops of blood for others. He spent whole nights and long seasons in prayer. And there are others – Daniel, David, and Paul.

Today Jesus looks across the whole earth, seeking for intercessors. Are there others who will stand in the gap on behalf of the land? Are there some who will raise their hands and say, “Jesus, let me be your intercessor for such a time as this? I want to be your woman of prayer.” If this is the cry of your heart, God is seeking you out. His eye is upon you. We read in Ezekiel 22:30:

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Intercession and prayer is so important to God. It is the primary way that God governs the universe. Through intercession He release His (government) power through Jesus and with His people. This requires cooperation on our part with Him. This is an expression of His desire for intimate partnership with us. He will not do our part and we cannot do His part. If we do not do our part, then God withholds some of the help and blessing He would have given us. We need a deep revelation of the majesty and mystery of intercession. I pray for you:

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power" - (Ephesians 1:17-19).

Why God Loves our Intercession:

“You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways” (Job 22:27-28).

God wants us to ask in order to receive (James 4:2). He will answer if we pray and ask (Isaiah 30:18-19). He loves when we verbalize our prayers. I will mention a few reasons why God loves our intercession to help you realize the beauty and power of partnering with Him in prayer:

God passionately desires that we partner with Him in prayer and intercession. Prayer draws us into intimacy with God, and at the same time, it humbles and transforms us. When we bring the needs of others to God in prayer, we interact in partnership with His heart.

We are in governmental partnership with Him. The governmental center of the universe is in the prayer ministry. We partner with Him or we will not see these blessings. Intercession is God’s brilliant strategy for including the saints in ruling with Him in power. God seeks for those who will stand in the gap in intercession.

He opens doors of blessing when we intercede. We have a dynamic role in determining the measure of the quality of our life.

He changes us on the inside as His Word abides in us. The mystery of intercession is in its “weakness”, simplicity, humility, and accessibility to all. We are filled with God's heart as we pray, and our effectiveness in intercession increases. God’s mind then dominates and saturates ours, renewing us as we pursue Him in prayer.

He initiates prayer by declaring His will in His Word. We respond by praying His Word. Then He answers us by releasing His blessing because of our prayers. Prayer and intercession cause us to internalize God’s Word because when we speak His ideas back to Him. His Word builds us up in our heart and delivers us (1Thessalonians 2:13, Acts 20:32, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:21). We then decree God’s decrees with power from on high.

Jesus releases God’s justice in response to intercession Justice is God making wrong things right. He requires night and day prayer as the condition to release justice. Wrong things are made right, the sick are healed, those bound in sin are freed, and revival is released in geographical areas.
“Shall God not avenge (bring about justice for) His elect who cry out day and night to Him? I tell you that He will avenge (bring about justice) them speedily. (Luke 18:7-8).

“Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge us to pray. Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution we can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray - to really pray. Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight - all through the day. Let us all pray for our children, our husbands, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes. Let us pray for our churches... Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.”

God is crazy about you and I am praying for you.




   
   

   
   

   
   

Are You Ready for Forever? Ten questions to answer before you accept his Ring:

Your marriage will join you body and soul to another human. Your marriage will determine the father of your children. It can strengthen or hinder your effectiveness for God. It can bring you a lifetime of joy or leave you miserable.

The real questions are:  “Are we ready to care for, sacrifice for and love him through good times and bad?” And “Do you believe you will glorify God more as a couple than as an individual?” And “Are you ready for forever?” Many people are unhappily married because they failed to ask the important questions. The season of courtship is the time to be wide awake, with your eyes wide open.

Is your relationship centered on God and his glory?

Is Jesus Christ the Lord of both your hearts. A happy marriage is founded on mutual love for and submission to Him. Are you obedient to his word? Are you striving to find your soul satisfaction in God? If you aren't,  you’ll enter marriage with the false expectation that it will fulfill and complete you. You’ll put unrealistic demands on your man by asking him to play a role only Christ can fill.

Are you growing in friendship, communication, fellowship and romance?

Friendship: do you enjoy being together? Apart from your romantic feelings, do you have a solid foundation of friendship? Are there activities and interests that draw you together? If you were the same sex, do you think you would be friends?

Communication: have you grown in your ability to hear and understand each other? Every relationship will have room for improvement, the question is, do you see growth?

Fellowship: do you talk about spiritual things? Do you pray together? Do you love God more today as a result of your relationship?

Romance: are you growing in romantic desire for each other? Are your affections increasing?

Are you clear on biblical roles as a woman?

Do you have a biblical conviction about what it means to be a godly woman. Are you in agreement about the role of a wife? Is he a man that you would respect, submit to, and love. The bible assigns a wife two primary responsibilities: to respect and submit to her husband (Ephesians 5:22-24; Colossians 3:18) these two responsibilities are closely linked. If you respect your husband, submitting to him will be a joy, if you don't respect him, submitting to him will be burdensome.

Are other people supportive of your relationship?

Good counsel helps you carefully and prayerfully think through the decision. It sorts out whether your main reasons for marrying are self-centered, or if you know how to commit yourself to love someone else. Good counsel helps you identify potential problem areas and work on them now.

Is sexual desire playing too big(or too small) a part in your decision?

Sex is obviously a very important part of marriage, but remember that it can't make up for weaknesses in other parts of a relationship. While sexual desire shouldn't play too big a part, it shouldn't be too small, either. It's important that you are sexually attracted to your spouse. We shouldn't try to be more spiritual than God and marry someone we aren't excited about going to bed with.

Do you have a track record of solving problems biblically? Wrong patterns in your relationship doesn't necessarily mean that you should end it, but you need to be cautious and seek to change. Good marriages are not devoid of conflict. What is important is that both of you are committed to resolving problems according to God’s Word. Solving problems biblically means knowing how to bring up ad talk through difficult issues. It means being willing to ask for forgiveness for your contribution to the problem, no matter what the other person has done. Don't move ahead unless you see progress in this part of your relationship.

Are you heading in the same direction in life?

When the bible speaks of marriage, it speaks of leaving and cleaving. Leaving means you are no longer tied to the direction set by your parents and your single life. Cleaving means you choose to move in the same direction as your spouse. Amos says, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3). Have you talked about what leaving and cleaving will mean if you get married? Now is the time to discuss how you envision your shared life. Are you in agreement about lifestyle issues life religious beliefs and practise, children, church involvement, and money?

Have you taken into account any cultural differences you have?

Patiently talk through the issues with those that are especially opposed to the relationship. It's important to carefully think through the implications for your future.

Do you have complicating entanglements from past relationships?

We live in a time when many people bring the consquences of past relationships into the present. You should be committed to dealing with these issues on God’s terms.

Do you want to marry this person?

You should really ask yourself, “Do I want to marry this person?” and “Does this person want to marry me?” Getting married is your choice. You are the one who will affirm vows and say “I do.” No one and no “leading” can constraint or compel you to make these vows. Read 1Corinthians 7:25-40. Remember your saying yes to a person, not to “the man you hope he will become” Ask yourself “Am I willing to accept this person as he is? Do i want this person? Make sure that you are not coming into marriage with a hidden agenda, expecting to change the other person once you are married. Are you saying yes to a real person, with weaknesses as well as strengths, sins as well as gifts?

I pray that you’ll have courage and willing to stand by what God has shown you about the relationship you’r e in. Don't let pressure from others, fear of being alone, or a craving for marriage lead you to take a foolish decision. Trust God’s guidance and be courageous. And it doesn't matter if your coming from a broken family, your mother was the other woman, divorced parents and may think your marriage will fail as well, that's simply not true. By God’s grace, you can overcome your past and your own sinful tendencies and build a successful marriage.

If you’ve honestly answered the important questions and God’s Spirit is giving you peace about pursuing marriage don't let fear hold you back.

If he proposes, say yes!

Live courageously!

When you know in your heart that you’ve found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, forever can't start soon enough.

God is crazy about you and I am praying for you.

Can Boys be Men: Embrace Your God-Given Role as a Man:

Okay ladies, I know some of you are excited about the title of this article but, if your looking for anything (world’s definition) other than God’s definition of a man, you just opened the wrong article. To my Christian sisters in courtship, the singles, those engaged to be married soon, this will be helpful, but the next post is for you, challenging you to be Godly ladies, watch this space, enjoy this one though. To the boys, I hope this will help you become men.

What does it mean to be a man? God calls you to be servant initiators, firm but gentle, masculine yet caring, leaders yet servants, protectors  not seducers. Ever wondered what God had in mind when He made two sexes? What is His plan? Can the men of this generation understand and embrace the unique role God has assigned to them? Your role as men was assigned by God at the beginning, in the creation story, He created you first for a reason. He made Adam first signifying his unique role as a leader and initiator. He created Eve from Adam and brought her to Adam to be his helper in the tasks God had assigned him. She was made to complement, nourish, and help her husband. God’s greatest gift to man was “ a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18). This doesn't minimize a woman's role, but it does define it. Men and women were created equal, yet different. And the fact that we are different is wonderful. God didn't make us to duplicate each other, but to complement each other. Mathew Henry in his commentary on Genesis explains: “ Eve was not taken out of Adam’s head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him”

Boys can you just be men, you have your work cut out for you and you need to take it very seriously. What business do you have pursuing a relationship with a woman when you still haven't figured out what it means to be a man. You owe it to the women in your lives, your future wives ( I hope your praying for them), and to God to figure this out. The world is crying for men who are strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. I pray you will be that kind of a man, glad that God made you a man, glad to shoulder the burden of manliness in a time when to do so will often bring contempt. To my ladies, don't be scared, wondering if such men, still even exist, the good news is that they do, I know one. Just seek God and pray, to the singles, pray for yout future husband daily, just let the Spirit lead you, to those in relationships, pray for him, God will change him, remember, you cannot change him, only God can.

Men can you assume the responsibility of leading and initiating in your relationships with women. Leading is a form of serving, provide direction, suggest ideas and initiate conversations or activities. Plan times together, carefully plan your dates. It's your job as men to make sure that the relationship is contuning to grow at a healthy rate. It's your responsibility to make sure you’re both guarding your hearts. I know its difficult for most of you but it’s a big part of what it means to be a man.

Be the spiritual leaders, its your role to make sure that your relationship isn't merely superficial and entertainment oriented, but deep, God focused, and characterized by biblical fellowship. Don't be content to be spiritually lukewarm, strive to set an example of passion for God. I love Jesus today and have a passion for God that amazes my family and friends and they keep wondering what happened to me but its because an awesome man set a beautiful example for me. Boys would you do the same for the woman in your life. The best thing you can do for her is to draw her closer to God than to yourself.

Boys, do little things in your relationship with women that communicate your care, respect, and desire to protect. This doesn't have to be complicated, simply be a gentleman to the women in your life, your goal is to show through your actions that their status as women is a noble one. Just small actions like: open the door for her, open the gate ( if you don't have a gateman) even if its you driving, pull out her chair. If you need more ask some godly women, you’ll be amazed how willing they’ll be to help educate you.

Encourage women to embrace godly femininity: when the lady is humble and gentle, encourage her, femininity is not weakness, it requires great strength of character to be gentle in an age that screams for her to do otherwise.

So boys can you be men, you may not realize  it but you desperately need God’s help to be who He has called you to be as a man. You can't do it in your own strength, you need His Grace. God is the center of the universe. He created you for Himself. Your a man because He made you a man for His glory. Express your manhood for Him, His ways and in so doing, point to His greatness and reflect His goodness.

God is crazy about you and I am praying for you.

How to Maintain Our Peace in the Midst of Spiritual Warfare

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" - (Romans 12:16-18). 

Dear intercessors,

Spiritual warfare is part of the Christian life. Psalm 144:1 says, "Praise be to the Lord, my Rock. Who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." Exodus 15:3 says, "The Lord is a mighty warrior; the Lord is his name." We are living on earth in enemy territory, and, therefore, we experience spiritual warfare. We must always be on the alert. The enemy comes in like a flood, trying to fill us with doubt, fear, and discouragement. He tries to bring division in our relationships. But our God always has victory when we trust in Him and walk in His peace.

If we want to be healers and helpers in battle, we must be clad in His armor. We must have a strategy to rescue those taken hostage or left wounded on the battlefield. We must understand the seriousness of war.

How can we walk in victory and maintain peace right in the midst of personal, and sometimes unrelenting, spiritual warfare? How can we be joyful in war? 

Ways to Maintain Peace in Spiritual Warfare

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness"  - (James 3:17-18).

It is possible to walk in a level of joy and peace even when things on earth seem to be getting worse. We can bring peace wherever we go. Here are some ways:

We must be a lover of God first and then a warrior- Jesus must be our all in all. We must concentrate on our relationship with Him, and abide in that intimacy always. The busier we are, the more we must cultivate our relationship with Him. Many unintentionally lose their intimate relationship with God. It happens little by little, if we are not alert to the enemy's devices. The enemy is crafty, and he knows where your power lies.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

We must develop a life of praise and worship - Worship is powerful warfare. When I go to the nations. Prayer and worship open the way for everything else. God opens the door for His grace to come pouring into the nations.

"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior" (Psalm 18:46).

We must persevere and resist the devil - The enemy is intent to stop us as we move forward. We need perseverance. Nothing good happens without it. We are all living in enemy territory. We are called to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil at the cross (1 John 3:8). To take our stand against the enemy means that we refuse to give him ground and that we will not retreat. We settle that in our hearts. We resist the enemy and draw near to God.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you" (James 4:7-8).

We are not going to retreat or depart because of enemy pressure, but we are going to go on from glory to glory to victory! God's grace is sufficient. We resist the enemy, stand firm in the Lord, and do not give way. We carefully maintain peace in our relationships. We worship and praise God right in the middle of the difficulty. Satan will not give us territory without a fight. We are taking ground in heavenly places, even if we do not see it. We must not relax our vigilance. It doesn't mean that we are frantic, nervous and anxious. We walk in that supernatural peace and joy that is possible only as we abide in Him.

This is the amazing truth of the Christian life as we enter into the harvest in the nations. We are living a life that is not of our own strength. Let's get comfortable with a life of dependence on God; loving Him totally, standing firmly on His Word, and walking in His peace. 

Times of Testing in Warfare

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-13). 

You may be in a time of testing. The devil will always try to steal your hope. But God gives us hope when we spend time with Him. Hope that He would finally break through, hope that the seas would one day be calm again, and hope that God would turn your very trial into something supernatural and good.

When we are in the midst of a difficulty, we can handle it God's way and with His peace. The enemy brings in discouraging thoughts, false reasoning, doubts and disappointments. He tries to steal our peace. But if we choose to worship Him and grow intimate with Jesus, then the clouds will begin to lift as we persevere. The perseverance is all part of the testing time. We are being stretched. It's part of the package of how God plans to train and work through us, bringing maturity and victory.

Let's thank God for every day that He has to stretch us. He is developing spiritual muscles that we would never have had before, and it is so worth it. It is all part of love even when we don't feel it at the time. God loves you. This is why He is permitting whatever trial you may be facing. It is for your good (Romans 8:28). He is making you a worker of great stature and purpose, and you shall not be disappointed. See your circumstances from His perspective, and let His peace rule in your heart. It will all be worth it!

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful" (Colossians 3:15).

God is crazy about you and I am praying for you.

6 Ways to Reinvigorate Your Prayer Life

Every believer knows what it is like to struggle in his or her prayer life. You know you need to pray and feel guilty for not praying more, so you kneel down, fold your hands, close your eyes, and then have no idea what to say. Then once words start coming out you don’t know if you are praying for the right thing or if your prayers are even being heard.

If this is your experience, here are a few practical steps you can take to reinvigorate your prayer life.

1. Remember the Gospel

Sometimes our hesitation in prayer is driven by our insecurities about whether or not we will be heard. In times like these allow the message of the Gospel to remind you that your audience with the Father is not conditional upon your performance as a believer. Remember that Jesus gave himself in your place after he lived the perfect life none of us could have lived. God raised him from the dead and exalted him to the right hand of God. When we trust in Christ, God gives us Christ’s righteousness and adopts us as his children. In addition, he gave us the Holy Spirit who helps us pray when we don’t know how to pray. Because God is our Father, Jesus gave his life for us, and the Holy Spirit helps us, we have every reason in the world to come to him in prayer, knowing we will be heard. When you feel like God will not hear you, remember this Gospel message.

2. Meditate on Scripture

Often the way we talk about our devotional lives hinders the way we pray. We often present prayer and Bible reading as if they are two unrelated halves of the “quiet time.” The greatest help to my prayer life I ever heard came from Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. He pointed to biblical meditation as a bridge between Bible reading and prayer. As we think deeply about Scripture, asking it questions and plumbing its depths for application, we think of things that will move us to pray. We will see things we should thank God for, sins we should confess, challenges we need the Spirit’s aid to conquer, and ministry opportunities for which we need strength. When we read our Bibles we need to read them with an eye towards communion with God and requests we should bring before him.

3. Pray a Psalm

When you don’t know how to pray, trying praying a prayer God inspired in the Psalms. The Psalms cover the whole range of human emotions and stir up our affections when we are dry. Pray Psalm 6 when you are hurting, Psalm 51 when you have sinned, or Psalm 63 when you desire to meet with God more than anything else. Let Psalms like 19 or 100 help you see the glory of God and the praise due to his great name. To aid you in this, read through the Psalms and keep a list of which ones would be helpful to pray in different times of need.

4. Make a List

If you aren’t sure what to pray for, stop and make a list of things to pray about. Ask yourself some key questions to get the list started. Are there sins I need to confess? What are some reasons I have to thank God for his goodness to me? What people in my life need to hear the Gospel? What Christian friends do I have who need encouragement? What are things causing me stress and anxiety? These and other questions will yield a list that you could spend a significant amount of time praying through.

5. Use a Book of Prayers

We can learn a lot about prayer by listening to other people pray. Often as believers we need other people to teach us how to pray. One resource to help us with this is a book of prayers like The Valley of Vision. We can read prayers other believers prayed and be drawn near to God as our hearts begin to be meshed together with the words of the prayer. Also, in our age where we are tempted to pray with a sometimes thoughtless informality, reading prayers that have been carefully thought through can give us greater insight into our own prayer life.

6. Walk Around and Pray for Your Neighbors

If you get confused about what to pray for and don’t want to sit in a room by yourself, head outside. Walk around your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors. If you have been in the neighborhood for a while you know their names and situations. If they are not believers, pray for opportunities to talk to them about Jesus and pray for the Lord to open their hearts. If you don’t know them well enough to have an idea of how to pray for them, pray for opportunities to get to talk to them or pray about how you can go out of your way to engage them. Let your prayers drive you to look for ministry opportunities with those around you.

Good luck and I am praying for you!