Set emotions aside & pray - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) April 11, 2023

For most believers, there are moments when they just can't pray. They're tired from a long day at work or after having to deal with some grueling challenge. At such moments, the zeal to pray is low. The energy to do almost anything is practically non-existent.

However, Jesus taught His disciples that prayer was not an option. Luke 18:1 - Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Apostle Paul insisted that we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

These instructions are for everyone who claims to believe in Jesus. They do not ignore that there will be times we don't feel like praying. Having lived as a man, Jesus understood there would be times we would feel justified in not praying because we feel defeated and low. He knew that the devil would manipulate and take advantage of human emotions and feelings to discourage them from obeying God's instruction to pray.

This is one of the reasons why the Lord gave us His word in the Bible. With scripture, nobody needs to rely on their emotions and feelings to get into the right mood to pray. Remember we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God's scripture is all you need to do His good work of which praying for others and yourself is one.

We need to simply proclaim the word of God. His word doesn't depend on our emotional state, we just need to speak it into the situations we see and those arising in our lives.

If for some reason the word of God escapes you, the Holy Spirit is assigned to take over at that point. Romans 8:26 - And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words (NLT). And this is a reason why we must give our lives to Christ to receive a deposit of the Spirit of the Lord who intercede for us in this way.

Furthermore, by becoming born again in Christ and thus the Spirit, we become sealed with the gift of speaking in tongues, which also does not depend on how one feels to be effectively utilized in prayer.

And be aware that complaining and grumbling are not prayers. They are therefore not effective in getting what you need from the Lord. The Bible warns that believers should be careful how much they speak. Proverbs 10:19 - Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut (NLT). Complaining and grumbling increases the risk of speaking in sin because of the negative emotions involved.

Let us never forget to talk to the Lord, expressing our concerns and joys in reverence. Let us learn to apply His word, to call on the Holy Spirit to groan on our behalf, and to speak in tongues as stated in Ephesians 6:18. In doing so, we will stay far away from the complaining and grumbling which can lead us to sin with our lips and speak in a manner that displeases the Lord or that blasphemes the Holy Spirit - the only stated sin from where there is no return (Matthew 12:31).

The Answered Prayers You Don't See - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 7, 2023

Many of us have been praying for things for years and feel like God is taking a long time answering our requests. As tough as the experience is, this is scriptural. After all, David waited over a decade from being anointed king to actually taking the throne. The Book of Psalms is full of His prayers begging God to keep him safe during that waiting period.

But what if I told you that there are times when we think God hasn't answered our prayers but He actually has? You just frowned slightly. You don't believe that you'd ever miss the answer to your prayers if God had answered them, right?

Wrong!

Let me use myself as an example. I have a prayer point that I've been petitioning on for years. I'd settled into thinking it was going to be one of those long haul prayers - that I'd be waiting like Father Abraham for its fulfillment.

However, the Holy Spirit recently used an unrelated verse to show me exactly how the Lord had already done what I asked for.

My initial reaction was to jump up and down, happy to have understanding and know the Lord answered me. Then, I became stunned. I couldn't believe I'd missed it. Listen, He'd answered the request months earlier and I was still enjoying the fulfillment of the prayer. Somehow, I'd ignored the fact that God had done it. I mean, once the Holy Spirit showed me, it was all so clear and frankly, I felt stupid.

I shouldn't have though, because the Lord Himself has said His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). God delights in doing things the way He wants to do things. And it won't necessarily be the way we human beings expect. I simply delight in what He does and praise Him for it. I am content to know that He is mysterious and I can't understand everything He does and why.

Nevertheless, this was a big lesson to be careful. While waiting for something, we can get discontented. In that headspace, we could say or do things to cancel what God has already done for us but we just haven't realized it yet. Again, I would never have realized that God had answered my prayers on my own. It took the Holy Spirit granting insight because God did it for me in a way I could never have imagined. If I had wearied in praying and tired of waiting obediently on God, would I have ever understood that my request was fulfilled? Honestly, I don't know. Regardless, I'm grateful to God that I hung in there and He proved Himself true.

Please learn from my experience. God is answering prayers every day. Sometimes, we just can't see it yet because our human understanding is so limited in comparison to God's. We need Him to show us what He's done.

Habakkuk 2:3 - For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Know God's Word & Power - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) April 4, 2023

The Bible helps believers become familiar with God's word and His voice. When this happens, it gets easier to identify satan's voice and works in this world. The Savior said as much in Matthew 22:29 - Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. (HCSB).

The failure to be conversant with God's word makes us prey to satan's schemes. This makes sense given that God Himself stated that people are destroyed by their lack of knowledge in Hosea 4:6.

There is something else that opens people up to satan's deception and that is the ignorance of God's power. Many today are in this very category. They don't believe that god can still part the seas or heal the sick. To them, the God of the Bible either doesn't exist or is on vacation, not worried about the affairs of man.

People with this attitude have become like those warned of in 2 Timothy 3:5 - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. This verse explains how a self-professing Christian can believe that the occult practices of the New Age somehow don't violate God's word. This is how an individual who 'grew up in the church' has no issue with stealing or lying without hesitation.

These individuals are neither attuned to God's word nor aware of His power. They therefore do not genuinely live in the fear of the Lord and so take actions without concern for the consequences here on earth and in eternity.

Are you one of these people? Are you ignorant of God's word? Do you not know of the power of God Almighty and its capacity to grant you favor or to act as a mighty arm that rains blows on you? So many of us want to imagine the Lord is a caricature of Santa Claus - fat and jolly with bags of toys. But, we aren't to act like impressionable children when it comes to spiritual matters. We are to get familiar with God's word and His power. The knowledge of both are available for free in the Bible. We can tap into both through fellowship with Spirit-filled believers, books written to edify and testimonies to His glory. We can't continue to live in error. We can't be 'lukewarm' with our thumb touching the things of God while our remaining four fingers are rooted in the things of the world.

Revelation 3:16 - So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]. (AMP)

Just as ignorance of the law is no defense, ignorance of God's word and power can't be a defense when the day of our Savior comes. May none of us gnash our teeth and be left outside, uninvited from the banquet, IJMN Amen.