Praying in the Spirit

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18 niv

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” 

Ga. 5:25 

If we walk in the Spirit, we are not going to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. 

Ga. 5:16.  

Meditating upon the Word of God helps us live in the Spirit of God and in His will. Meditating enables us to store His word deep down inside of us and the Bible promises to bring it up into our remembrance when we need it. Paul said that our Spirit fights against the flesh. A good example of flesh is saying, “I’ll pray for you.” Then, we forget. What I try to do is pray for them right then and there or write it down. Every time we choose obedience we shun the unholy spirit and are walking in the Holy Spirit. Another way we walk in the Spirit is when we choose humility over pride.  Walking in the Spirit does not come through our own goodness. We walk in grace through the faith that was given to us.

God’s complete will in your life is:

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Luke 10:27 niv

When we put God above ourselves [our wants, pleasures] then, we are walking in His Spirit [will] and we can pray in the Spirit. 

Many of our prayers are not answered because we are not praying in His Spirit [will.]  James 4:3 says “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” niv

Are you praying in greed instead of need? Check your motives before you pray. Sometimes God will give us what we want in order for us to see, it wasn’t what we wanted after all. Everyday is a lesson. 

Pray in the measure of faith that God has given to you. Are you praying in doubt? After your prayers, do you cancel them out by speaking negatively against the very things you requested or declared?  Many do not think about what is coming from their hearts and the power involved through the words we speak. Many times we speak sloppy because we are thinking sloppy. We can either speak words of faith or doubt. 

I believe Praying in the Spirit involves every single fruit that is listed in Galatians 5:22-24

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

      

When we pray in the Spirit we are always praying in forgiveness. We know it takes a lot of love inside of us to forgive those who have hurt us. Every time we think about the offense can be like opening up a fresh wound. Better to set ourselves free from the bondage of this mindset that we’ve held in our hearts and forgive. Then, we will have the liberty to pray in God’s will. Besides, the Bible says if we do not forgive others, neither will God forgive us our sins. When we follow through on obedience, the good feelings will come. 

 Summing it up:

• Meditate upon the Word, so you will learn God’s will and walk in His Spirit.
• Be honest, depart from any works of the flesh that would hinder your prayer life and ask for forgiveness. We are walking examples of His truth and love.
• Always forgive others before you pray, and ask God to forgive you.
• Become a person of faith, believing that God will hear your prayers.
• Pray for one another’s needs in the Spirit [will] and pray God’s word. 

Let’s pray for one another this morning:

Heavenly Father,

We thank You for your Word and how Your Holy Spirit continually gives us the increase when we study. We thank You for Your faithfulness and Your love. We thank You for Your goodness. You said that you are present in the company of the righteous. We know Your Son is our righteousness. We ask that You clean up any stains in our hearts and help us to put a guard over our mouths. Transform us into a zealous people seeking after your will, every morning. We ask that we would be a reflection of your son’s love, transparent in all that we would do. Truly that your will would be our will. Teach us to walk in your Spirit and listen to your Spirit. We ask that Your Holy Spirit would comfort our sisters and brothers going through heavy trials of patience, endurance and testings of their faith. We ask that you would fill their hearts back up with Your hope. 

We ask where there be heartbreak, You would bring more hope and with hope healing to these hearts. We ask that where there would be rejection, they would receive Your light of confidence through godly acceptance. For those who are lonely, that you would send encouragers to speak good words of Your love, urging them to go outside to make friends. For those who struggle with depression, we ask they would begin to transform their thinking patterns into thinking about the depth, width, length of Your love. For those who struggle with doubt and unbelief, we ask that You would help them to restore faith and love through your word. For those who are comparing themselves with others, struggle with envy or jealousy, we ask that Your Word would reveal to them how important they are in Your flock, how much they are loved for who You made them to be. For those who are struggling with financial difficulties, we ask that You would give them wisdom and knowledge and insight into examining their own hearts where they can cut back on necessary items. Reveal to them what is important in their priorities. For any of those who have an eating disorder, we ask that you would give them a supernatural desire and will to put down the wrong eating and pick up the right foods for Your kingdom. For those who are in the midst of grieving, we ask that You would give them a time of peace and comfort through their storm. For those who are struggling against addictions, we ask that You would send those who were once in bondage to help set these people free. 

“For we know that through all our trials and failings we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loves us. We are convinced that neither death or life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ro.8:37-39

In Jesus we pray.

Amen

    

Nightsounds by Bill Pearce

I highly recommend listening to Nightsounds before you retire in the evening. When I was a young believer I would listen to him every evening before I'd retire. His soothing voice ministers peace and who doesn't need that!

http://www.nightsoundsradio.org

The Hope of Salvation

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” niv  Ephesians 6:17

The heavy demands of being a single parent was highly underrated as was the unfair difference in wages favoring the opposite sex. I had left an abusive marriage and moved next door to my mother. My lifestyle revolved around raising my 3 sons and working as a hairstylist.  There was too much on my plate and everything began to cave in on me. Who was I anyway? Having never known my father and why didn’t he care? I believed in God, but where did I stand in His eyes? I was searching for acceptance and love in all the wrong places. It was Easter time and filled with despair I started to cry. I’d felt I messed up my life beyond repair. I picked up the Bible my mother had given to me. As I began to read, I felt hope rising up inside my heart! I discovered I was loved! And forgiven too! I learned there were other people just like me in the Bible! When I knelt before my Father God I emptied myself completely out and was Born again in 1973 and I have never been the same since. Though young in the Lord, I became active in church and also attended college. Any extra time for myself were cherished long hours into the night studying God’s word. I eagerly passed down this saturation to my sons and my cup has never stopped running over.

One night after the boys were in bed and I was getting ready to retire I heard the floorboards crack under the linoleum from footsteps coming from the kitchen. We lived in a large doublewide mobile home that wasn’t put together very well.  They did not have a lemon law like they do today, but we had a roof over our head and I was thankful as it served a purpose.  Welcome to the real Florida! This is the one you don’t see on a postcard. We lived off dirt roads. If you didn’t drive fast enough down them, invariably you’d get stuck. During rainy season, you always got stuck unless you owned a truck. We had Palmetto bushes instead of Palm trees, dirty sand instead of white sand, snakes looking into our windows while hanging from trees [no joke!], spiders with large bodies and big eyes that followed you, roaches big enough to pull your trailer, alligators and wild hogs instead of dolphins and sandpipers. We also had our fair share of “wannabe cowboys” who shot off their guns in the middle of the night on only 2-4 acres and because voices travel in the stillness of the night; I could hear the screaming and hot tempered threats of young couples punching each other out and then, the sirens. A popular high school coach once said: “The worse kids and the best kids come from that area.”   

Part of my heart felt as if it was beating in my throat, as I peeked down the dark hallway and saw the refrigerator light go on as someone opened the door!  I was bewildered! What was going on? Why would anyone break in and open our refrigerator? I knew the kids were safely in bed. Without a doubt I knew there was an intruder! Daringly I yelled, “Whoever you are, leave now or I will call the police!” In one single nano second, I knew this was a very stupid reaction because the phone was where he was at, not in my bedroom! Lesson one: “bluff not!” No extension and certainly no cellphones in those days. People do strange [and unthinking] things when they feel like they are backed up against a wall. I heard my oldest son Sean who was about 14 at the time, asking me if I wanted him to jump out the window and go to our neighbor for help. I crossed the hall urging him to be a little bit more quiet and to stay put because I did not know what we were dealing with.

I cannot describe how I was fighting my vivid imagination how evil men could be surrounding our small place.  

It was then, I felt a rush of faith enter my spirit as I told Sean, “I’m going down the hall and face this, in the name of Jesus! I must see who this is and what is going on!” [We did not have any guns in the house]  Sean boldly declared, “I’m going to follow you mom” and he picked up a baseball bat, together we started down the long hallway.

When we passed the kitchen and looked around, we saw nothing; until I looked on the floor in the living room and there was a strange man sprawled out on the floor. The smell of whiskey was unmistakable. Still offended, I pushed the man with my foot, telling him to get up! As he slowly got up, I told him to sit down! Bluntly, I asked him why he broke into our home? I told Sean to go get my Bible. I wanted to sober this man up. Not having coffee, I gave “Bo” a cup of tea. Sean knew who the man was, he was a Vietnam vet, whose mind was scarred from the war. I then vaguely recalled seeing him walk the country roads. He told me that he had gotten our place mixed up with his place. I was not sure I believed him [but he did open the fridge door as if he lived there].  Bo was a loner and had a dangerous reputation of chasing kids around the lake with a machete and even setting off bombs.  Our house was easy to “break into” nothing was secure. I did the best I could with what I had at the time. 

Now sitting across from each other, I asked Bo if he realized how blessed he was? If he had walked into any other house he would have been shot! As he started to sober up, he began to confide in the agony of being separated from his wife and children. I could see the weight of his heaviness and understood his heartache could be the reason why he drank. We prayed together for a reuniting of his family. I told him that I believed that angels had brought him to our house so he could hear the gospel! Into the wee hours of the morning he listened, asked questions and then we prayed again. Around 3:30 am he finally opened the door to walk home. I told him he was welcome to come over anytime, but always knock! And, if he ever wanted to go to church with us, to let me know. He kept to himself and I never had a problem with him again. Later, I did hear rumors that he was back with his family.

“Faith goes up the stairs and into the room and out the window that hope has made.”  Bill Pearce

I related this experience for you to have an idea of how fear tried to instill panic inside of me. But I resisted it in hope, that my faith in God would bring me through, and He did. It was God who worked it all out for good so Bo could hear the gospel. 

The above verse tells us to take the helmet of salvation. The word helmet in the greek means hope. Take the hope of salvation. Embracing hope strengthens our heart and increases our faith. We please God when we put our trust in Him.

The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Bible further says that we have our hope in the Word. 

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105 

We hear what God is saying when we read and study his word. We grow and mature. His will for our lives is a never ending process as our character is transformed into that new creature in Christ. His will becomes our will. His word guides us into a deeper walk. We are given wise solutions on how to fight the battles that come up in our lives, this is one reason why the Word is called a double-edged sword.

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  He. 4:12 

God’s word is living. All life breathes, does it not?  The very breath of God goes deep inside of us as it divides and conquers what needs to be cut and separated. We cannot see our soul or spirit, nor can we see our joints or the marrow in our bones. One breath of God’s Spirit is used to examine our deepest motives and reasonings inside of our hearts. He sees our other side. He knows what is behind our ambitions and our words.

Every tiny cell we have in our body works to glorify God in a myriad of ways because it was He who created us, for His glory. And, He said it was good. 

We have a big big God. Have you ever thought of the possibility that some of the atoms we breathe could be some of the atoms that Jesus and his disciples breathed while on earth? What a mind-blowing thought. 

For every problem we go through, there is a storehouse of solutions for us to apply in the Bible. We are truly Overcomers and literally have it all. 

Let’s Pray:

Precious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving us before we knew you. Your love increases our faith and restores our soul. You gave us a new heart. You’ve given us so many benefits by forgiving our sins and redeeming us, we become overwhelmed with your goodness. Your compassion and mercies overflow around the earth.  You fill us up with good things and even renew our youth like an eagles if we wait upon you and your will in our lives. Help us to listen to your voice Father. Our desire is to please you with good thoughts and obedient behavior. We call you Father, there is no one like you on earth. We look for your son Jesus Christ’s coming. Prepare our hearts for this time Lord. Make us ready to be that glorious bride in you, pure and without spot or blemish. We trust in you completely and purposely put down any hinderances of the old man that would interfere with our growth. Thank you Lord

We ask that you would continue to watch over our President and his family, his cabinet and all those who work closely with him. We ask that your ministering angels would continue to guard him over the things he eats, while he rests, going and coming, while he works, through other people’s tongues and those that scheme against him. We ask together that you would keep giving him the wisdom and knowledge to always be 5 steps ahead of his accusers, in a wise deal and that he would have the discerning eyes of an eagle. Give him deep understanding when you send godly counselors to minister your word. We ask that his face would continue to be as bold as flint and he would continue to be unwavering in his beliefs and prove to be a mighty workman upon your behalf. Father we ask for this man to be vindicated. We pray that when the storms come, they would run off of his back like water upon a ducks back. We ask that you would drawn him and his wife into a closer union in you. We ask that everything they do would reflect your will, your glory and the power of your strength. We ask for a transparency in their lives, so all can see that Jesus is Lord of Lords.   Thank you Lord. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. 

Next Ep. 6:18

Lift up your Shield of Faith

Good Morning,

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ep. 6:16 kjv

God given faith works with love and patience. Love is the opposite of fear. Love should be our highest motivation. Without faith in God we can do nothing good, but in God’s merciful grace we can do all things. Truly, this could be one reason why the above verse begins with “Above all.”  A child of God cannot pray nor live without faith. Every single cell within us is  tried and tested for us to use the faith that has been given to us.

It takes faith for us to walk in love when we do not “feel” this in our heart. It takes faith to choose to forgive [walking in forgiveness is everything]. I can speak from experience that when we choose obedience, the feelings will follow. Faith can be a lifestyle of growth and calls for the use of patience. There are times when we move reluctantly to take one step back, and use the needed time to give the offenders the benefit of the doubt. This is where they are at in their life.  We are not making excuses for sin, but our job is to deal with the problem according to the Word of God. We are instructed to love those who despise us.

Not everyone will understand the light of the gospel. Remember when Jesus prayed, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” 

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.” Luke 6:27-29

Jesus never asked others to do what he himself wasn’t doing.  

When we go through a test of faith and finally get to the finish line there seems to be an invisible bell that rings victoriously in our hearts when we’ve passed a test. Oh, the joy!  And, if we did not pass that test, we begrudge the thought of having to drive around that mountain once again until we do. 

Our faith brings huge rewards into our lives. The more we use our faith the more this fruit reseeds itself and multiplies and grows. This can be like drinking a smoothie filled with luscious organic fruit and herbs that gives us our needed boost of energy. Every time we unwaveringly lift that shield up and expect one of our prayers to be answered we are exercising our spiritual walk in “The Faith Olympics.” 

In Hebrews 11:1 in the Amplified Version it says; “ Now faith is the assurance [title deed, confirmation] of things hoped for [divinely guaranteed] and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality-faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.]

Our physical gateways [sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell] ushers us into using our faith when those 5 senses cannot fill our needs. Everything we have fills some kind of need. When I see my car keys hanging where they should be, I have peace. But, if they are missing; my faith kicks in and I ask our Father to show me where I misplaced them. That happened twice in one day!  I keep my angel busy showing me where I misplaced my needed items. I cannot see my faith, but I see the result of our prayers! Have you ever noticed, one of the hardest parts of our faith is using the patience needed to see you through your trial without fretting? And, why is it when we take one of those medical tests, we must invariably wait over the weekend or longer to get the results? When we need a good dose of extra patience, a trial comes along for us to use our faith. Then we wait, and wait and wait while holding our shield of faith up in prayer so God can work in our lives. 

Let’s Pray:

Precious Heavenly Father,

We cannot see you but we know you are here. We know you read the deepest intents of our hearts and look to see a working life of faith. We declare to all, that we love you Lord. We are thankful for your love and for your Holy Spirit that keeps teaching our souls how to live in your will. We ask that you would forgive us for our times of doubt and fretting, even after we’ve prayed. Put a guard over our mouths and bring a sensitivity and discernment when to speak and when not to speak. We ask that you would forgive us for not using what you have given to us. We ask that you would give us wisdom in how we can move gently in other hearts. Help us to be a reflection of your love in their lives and the boldness to follow through and speak your will to these people. Use us in new ways creatively.  Help us to retain what we learn, you said that when we need answers your Spirit would bring them up for such a time. Help us to be sensitive to your Spirit when He speaks in our hearts. 

We lift up those together this morning who are seeking a healing. We call you Jehovah Rapha, for you are the God who heals. Jesus said that if we ask anything in His name, believing that it is already done, we have it. Right now we trust in you with everything we have and refuse to lean upon our own understandings. According to your word, by Jesus’s stripes and the faith that you have given to us we say: “be healed” in His name. And, we all say: Thank you Father in your Son we pray. Amen. 

God bless you!  Next Ep. 6:17   God is so good!

Woman Comes Back to Life with a Message

Armor of God "Peace"

Good Morning,

“And your feet shod with this preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Ep. 6:15 ” 

Most of the time, the answers we seek from God are on the other side of fear. If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Fear whispers: “don’t walk through that door.” 

“Peace trusts in God, reacts in obedience and faith kicks the door down.”  

Nails were implanted in the Roman Military”s sandals enabling the solider to be immoveable during his battle even when he stood upon a slope. They were known to be: Victori (victorious) is Latin for "The Conquerors.”

Picture yourself a Warrior in Christ! Fully equipped in God’s Army and are wearing sandals made with nails and grit! Paul said in Romans 8:37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”kjv 

I believe being more than a conqueror means you’ve already won before you began the battle! When Jesus said “it is finished!” It is done! Our task is to walk through our trial and allow our God to reign!  Our sandals have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ that his nails wrought upon that cross! He paid a price for us to walk in peace. 

The Bible says in Ps. 34:14 “Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.” 

There have been times in my life when I’ve offended people by my words. I haven’t rested until I took the necessary steps to “get right” with those I offended. It does not matter who is right or who is wrong. What matters is for us to follow through on what the word says and do good. There will always be those who will not accept your apology, but that is between them and God. When we cast all pride to the wind and choose to humble ourselves we will have God’s peace. 

Paul said he keeps a clear conscience. “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” Acts 24:16 niv  I have no doubt that Paul may have continued to follow a process to “put off the old man and put on the new man” by renewing his thinking patterns. 

More than anytime in my life I have never seen such profound eruptions of lies, violence and warped thinking. Think about that for a moment. The prideful are those who are fearful. Those who do not have peace and do not want others to have it.  We can easily see these once good people are “Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring because they have compromised their integrity before the wicked.” 

Pr. 25:26

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called to one body; and be thankful.” Co. 3:5

The serenity of a babbling brook left untouched by man brings a great deal of calmness to a distressed mind.  Once we understand the high value of seeking after peace and this eternal reward, we are given a glimpse of eternity. 

Let’s pray:

Precious Heavenly Father,

Thank you Father for the freedom to pray. We have the freedom to say, Abba Father. Thank you Father for our freedom. We thank you for the high cost your Son paid so we could have this freedom and showing us the high value of pursuing Your peace. This morning we declare to allow your peace to rule in our hearts. We declare to walk in your strength through your peace. Together, we purposely put off all fear, frets, worries, any anxieties that cause stress and worldly thoughts in our hearts and put on the Peace that your Son left us. We put off the world! We put on your peace! We cherish Your word and will walk in Your word. We choose to be an overcomer through the midst of any storm, for we know you never leave us or forsake us. Thank you for working in our lives, for never giving up on us, for continuing to transform us into your son’s likeness. 

In Jesus we pray.

amen

Elvis Presley - Peace In The Valley ( With Lyrics ) View 1080 HD