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Prayer Notes

Praying for Spiritual Leaders

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Praying for Spiritual Leaders!

More and more we need to engage in prayer support for our spiritual leaders all over the world because God works through common people and leadership to advance his purpose in the earth. Spiritual leaders are under sever pressure to conform to society’s standards or are claimed to be hostile, along with their personal issues our leaders are faced with many other challenges and sometimes it is difficult for them to cope.

As we pray for spiritual leaders, these are some great things that we can pray;

1. Thank God for spiritual leaders and for the high price they have paid to be in leadership. It’s a great price. (1 Tim 5:17) “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.”

2. Cover them, their families and their ministries with the blood of Jesus daily. (1 John 1:7)… the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

3. Pray that God will comfort and encourage spiritual leaders, and heal their wounded spirits and hurting hearts. Pray the promise of endurance with joy (Col 1:11-12) being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[a] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

4. Ask God to pour out his supernatural grace and patience upon spiritual leaders. That the heavy barrage of pressure they are under in relation to their many and varied responsibilities, will be lighter. Ask God to reveal to us the pain of those pressures until we feel it in intercession. Ask God to give spiritual leaders the physical strength and more grace to endure, and as they walk in humility the power of God is released through this basic biblical principle. (James 4:6) But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

In preparation for prayer for spiritual leaders, we need to ask God to reveal anything in us that would hinder effective prayer for them (Psa 66:18). For our prayers to be effective we must have a forgiving spirit and a loving heart (Gal 5:6).

Pray that Spiritual leaders will find that their great fulfillment is in having a more intimate relationship with the Lord, rather than in ministry accomplishments.

Pray that worship and praise to the Lord will become an integral part of their lives.

Pray that spiritual leaders will make ministry to the Lord a priority over ministry to people (Luke 4:8).

Pray that spiritual leaders will understand that submission and constant obedience to the person of the Holy Spirit is the pathway of sustained power(Eph5:18).

Pray that leaders will have a fear of God and not be overcome by the fear of man or have a man pleasing spirit that cripples their ability to make sound and godly decisions.

Please remember that praying for others is sowing seeds that will only result in great harvest for you. This is the greatest investment we can ever make on anyone’s behalf.

Advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth!!!

Prayer Notes

Forever Ruined for the Ordinary

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Moses burning bushI pray that we will be forever ruined for the ordinary as we discover or rediscover the wonders of cooperating with God in shaping the course of history for nations through intercession.  Intercession is not a boring christian activity, reserved for the some elderly women who have nothing else to do but pray.

It is a thrilling and fulfilling experience with God. Taking time out everyday to consult with the King of the universe, Creator of all living things, Maker of heaven and earth, the Ruling, Reigning Monarch of the Universe with power to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we may ask or think.  He desires to tabernacle with us just like he did with Adam and Eve. He is just a whisper away.

Jesus awaits us as we approach his throne with confidence and enter into presence with expectations. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Cor 2:9).” The place of discovery and revelation is in the presence of the Lord. Take time out today to talk to God, he longs to show us things no one has ever seen or heard of before. His plan is to reveal his secrets to his friends.  “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel ( Paslm 103:7 Cambridge Ed.).” Moses was a man well learned in Egyptian culture and custom but God had a greater plan and made it known to him. Even if Moses was groomed to become the next Pharaoh, God would not allow it, because his plans were so much greater, changing lives for eternity and shaping history for numerous generations to come.  

You will never be the same again. You will be forever ruined for the ordinary like Moses. When he encountered God, he was never the same. His life took on new meaning, his true purpose was made clear. The closer he drew, the more he knew what God had been preparing him for. Moses took up the challenge God gave and became the most dominant, influential person in the history of the exodus of the children of Israel. As their deliverer he would become the shadow and type of the Messiah Jesus Christ- the Great Deliverer of all humanity. We can never phantom, the incredible plan God has for us by casually inquiring of him, we must with our whole hearts seek after him, love him, worship him and let him to become the center of our worship and the object of our affection. Therefore as you resign to abide in him, he will be reciprocate in a real and personal way with his wonderful supernatural presence abiding into your life daily. Reserve time with God he is look out for you, don’t disappoint him and keep him waiting . 

Advancing the kingdom of God in the earth!

 
Encouragement, Food for today

Being steadfast

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Being steadfast

James 1:12-18
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 10:36
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The times are proving true to the fact that we need Steadfastness to be a virtue in our everyday lives. That after we have endured the tests and trials we are still standing, having done all we can humanly do we are still standing. The most important thing is not so much how you feel but what you know to be true and that is you draw strength from the Lord- He your ever present help in times of trouble.

The feelings of weariness and faint comes because we relinquish our post of prayer and allow the cares of this life to crowd our minds. The enemy knows that when we are disconnected from our true vine we begin to loose strength, he knows if we are loosing joy we loose strength to keep standing and to fight, but this day the Lord has already provided all that we need to triumph and overcome every temptation, trials and situations that we face. God has already planned your victory, don’t plan to your defeat.

The steadfastness that you need to endure even under tremendous pressure comes as you stay rooted and built up in the word of God and prayer. You have 24 hour access to God, therefore take full advantage of it. The enemy of our souls knows how to buffet us, but we also know how to get rid of him by speaking the word of God. I therefore encourage us all today to be steadfast in the Lord, do not quit under pressure, sickness or under any circumstance. Quitting is never an option where God is concern, he has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. He has already provided a way of escape. May you be strengthen with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy (Col 1:11).

Walk in the perfect love of God toward Him and toward your fellow man. If there is ever a time to stand strong its now. If there is ever a time to believe God its now, this is not the time to doubt, fear or act cowardly. You are blessed when you remain steadfast. You will be rewarded when you remain steadfast; the crown is for those who endure to the end. Having done all stand steadfast.

Advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth!

Prayer Notes

This is the hour of prayer

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praying-hands4.jpgWhat is keeping you from being consistent in prayer?

interesting things are happening all the time around the world. What if you knew, you held the power to effect changes in nations, governments, local councils, schools, neighborhood and many more, right in your mouth, how will that change the way you pray?

Hindrance to prayer

There are many things that hinder people from praying. Sometimes we can either relax on prayer or leave everything to chance; hoping somehow, it will work itself out. For some, not knowing how to pray or what to pray for has become the greatest barrier to prayer. For others, finding time to pray, or just feeling beat down and battered, keep them from praying. Yet, we are ALL called to pray always with all kinds of prayer for everyone. According to (Eph. 6:18); Paul admonishes us to, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” The power of prayer does not lie in our ability to pray effectively but the Holy Spirit’s ability to pray through us as yielded vessels. A great way to get started is to pray for the needs of others.

Prayer is not a tedious task
You never pray without your helper – the Holy Spirit, He makes prayer interesting, rewarding and exciting. Relying on the Holy Spirit is awesome and incredible; he tells you what to pray and helps you pray when you have no idea what to say. He helps you in times of  weakness. Sometimes your spirit is willing but every other part of your body and mind are weak. This is typical for many of us, but “The [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weaknesses; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance (Romans 8: 26).”

Thus, there is no limit with Holy Spirit, the limit is with us. All he wants is a vessel He can direct and one that will obey. Your prayer is as effective as your yielding to the flow of the Holy Spirit. We should always depend on the Holy Spirit even when we already know what we want to pray for; be it yourself, family, friends or any situation-you still need help from the Holy Spirit to prevail in prayer. This is by no means difficult, it comes by simply asking him for help when you prayer.

Things to remember about The Holy Spirit when praying:
Will you ask Holy Spirit for help? Absolutely, He is your helper. In (John 14:16), Jesus said “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”
Holy Spirit enables you to speak with the language of heaven. Find in (1 CORINTHIANS 14:2 NKJ) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

Praying in the spirit- builds up your faith (JUDE 1:20 NKJ)
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit majors in
Holy Spirit reveals the mysteries of God to you. But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (1Cor 2:10-11).

Praying with the Holy Spirit- your teacher

He will teach and remind you of all things. John 14:26, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. He will take what belongs to Jesus and makes it known to us.

Praying- The Holy Spirit – your guide

Holy Spirit guides you into all truth and tells you things to come.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (John 16:13). In a world full of error and deception, we need the Holy Spirit to make us aware of truth always.

Holy Spirit is a spirit of wisdom and revelation and reveals who Jesus is. JOHN (15:26) states  “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

Holy Spirit is your constant companion and comforter. “If you love me you will obey what I command.  “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth (JOHN 14:15-17).”  The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you.

Advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth!

Abundant Life, Negative Emotions

Speaking God’s word brings the victory!

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God's word isWhat words are you most likely to speak in every situation?
Your first words are as important as every other word that proceeds from your mouth. We have heard the famous saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” I think we have lived long enough to know that this statement is far from the truth. For some of us, words have become more powerful than sticks and stones. The truth is, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (Prov 18:21).” The words that flow from the abundance of our hearts are exactly what our mouths have been saying.

What is in your heart ?

Now examine your heart in the light of the word to see what is in your heart, and begin to change your heart and your heart will produce words in keeping with your desire.  From the abundance or overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Jesus compares the words that come out of a man’s mouth with the fruit of a tree. A good tree will not bear bad fruit and a tree is recognized by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-44). In much the same manner, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart… (Luke 6:45)” Words have molding and destructive powers.

We never want to eat the fruit of destruction regardless of our situation. What a tragedy to see our words bringing our own demise. No one wants to experience the negative effect of words, spoken in haste, anger, or hurt. Even when we are seeing situations that are going contrary to what we are believing God for, speaking God’s word will bring victory. Therefore, examine your words and examine your heart.

Jesus is the answer

So what shall you say then, when your world is falling apart and there seems to be trouble on every side. Surely, no one knows the hurt you feel and the pain that you are carrying, yet, you cannot give up as if your circumstances have defined you. That’s not the time to give up and quit on life. When there is no answer, Jesus IS the answer, when there is no solution, Jesus IS the solution, where there is no way out Jesus IS the way, when all around my soul gives way He then IS all my hope and stay. Christ is your salvation, and your strong tower. Jesus is your shelter from the storm. He is your great place of refuge. He is the perfect hiding place from the storms of life and the perfect haven from a world of turmoil.

Let the word of truth dwell richly in you

Jesus said the words that I speak they are life and they are spirit. Great opportunities present themselves for us to say all the negative things we want. Someone even said, tell it like it is, well truly, tell it like it is in the word of God. Let the word become your world.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Col 3:16).” When you allow the word to dwell richly in you, the word of truth, will flow out of you. When the enemy brings lies to cause you to walk in fear, the word of truth that is in you, will raise up a godly standard against the lie of the enemy.

Watch the WORD become flesh through your declarations

I urge you today, make daily declarations from the word of God. You may not see results right away, but rest assure that God’s word will accomplish what it was sent for. According to (John 1:14) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Watch the same word you believe and stand on become flesh in your situation. Jesus, the Messiah was prophesied thousands of year before he actually showed up in flesh form. That did not hinder God’s prophets from declaring, the coming of the Christ, who will save his people from their sins. Many prophets declared the WORD until the WORD became flesh and dwell among them. God in the same way wants his word to become flesh for you. If you will not give up on God’s word, his word will sustain you in weakest moments of your life. If there is one thing God cannot do is lie. Will you speak his word and give it time to become flesh in your life?

When you change what’s in your heart, you will change what’s in your mouth and your life will produce the fruits of your lips.

Advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth!

Encouragement

Can you be calm in the midst of the storm?

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0721_jesus_calms_storm_christian-12.jpgCan you be calm in the midst of the storm?
A raging storm is no fun to experience on sea. When the sea is raging, ships are literally tossed around violently and so is everything on the ship. Everything that is not bolted tightly will be uprooted and thrown around the rooms. If you have ever had such an experience  on sea, you know how frightening and upsetting it is.

Caught off guard
Luke (8:22-25) account states that the storm arose suddenly. Which means there was no warning of a storm brewing. Note also that the men Jesus was dealing with were fishermen, these men are no strangers to the signs of the sea. Surely one should be able to tell the signs, since that’s where they spend most of their days. According to Mark’s record ( Mark 4:37) a great or furious storm arose and beat into the ship, so that it was now full. Not only was the ship tossed around, it was now full of water. The disciples were caught off guard when the storms hit. Jesus is God and man. He was tired from an eventful day filled with miracles and wonder. After these encounters Jesus was tired and went right to sleep. The disciples were left to do what they were accustom doing, Mann the boat.

Why would Jesus sleep now, we’re in trouble?

The storm was very ferrous, for the survival of life on board. Would Jesus perish along with his disciples? Although the situation reached desperation point, Jesus was at complete peace. He was asleep, fast asleep on a pillow, no one could really sleep in such turbulence, but he was at complete rest.  We are faced with sudden storms in our lives sometimes. A sudden bad report from the doctor, stating an evidence of cancer, diabetes, a sudden job loss, a loved one involved in a severe accident, or encountering danger at work or school. There is no life manual that tells us how to prepare for negative situations, like sudden storms. However, the Bible is our manual and God has provided us with all the necessary tools we need to overcome every situation. In fact the Bible is the book of life and tells us that we are more than conquerors through Christ that loves us. These storms may come in different degrees; some are of greater intensity than others, and although they may throw us into a frenzy, how we react makes a great difference.

You might ask, why would Jesus sleep now? Why would Jesus remain silent when I need to hear from him now? Because this is the time for you to speak his word- speak to the storm.

The disciples woke Jesus up, saying “Master care not that we perish?” This statement is so familiar, “Doesn’t Jesus see what I am going through, doesn’t he care about what’s happening to me?” So what happens in this moment, do we press the panic button and out of desperation we pray prayers of fear, doubt and unbelief. We feel like God doesn’t really care, but we are still hoping that by our theatrical acts we will impress God to move. Jesus was not in any way unaware of the storm, He knew the storm was coming although there was no visible warning, but choose not to allow the storm to disturb his peace. He was counting on his disciples to exercise their faith based on what they have been exposed to all along. In fact, Jesus knew, this was an opportune moment for his disciples to flex their spiritual muscles after having been with him for so long.  Many of the disciples were professional fishermen, they were already accustomed to the sea. These disciples watched Jesus perform many signs and wonders, yet they panicked when the storm came. How typical of each of us.

The known factor

Jesus and his disciples were thrust into the same situation. Jesus was calmly sleeping while his disciples were fighting for their lives. How could Jesus sleep in the midst of turmoil and how could he be totally unaffected by the storm? The difference between Jesus and his disciples is what is called the “known factor”. Jesus knew who he was and what he was capable of doing. He knew that all things were subject to his authority. He knew that because he was the Prince of peace he had the authority to speak peace to the storm and watch it obey him. Jesus was not afraid or terrified by nature’s violent elements, he was not in any way intimated by the raging storm. What is very reassuring is that he has given this same authority to his disciples and those who belongs to him. The known factor you is that Jesus Christ has given you the authority to speak to every ferocious situation that  might raise its ugly head.

Speak to the storm
Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and they stood still. He also rebuked his disciples because they should have known what to do too. Jesus expects the same of us too. You might say that’s Jesus, he’s God, He knows what to do. That’s true but he lives on the inside of you. He who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Jesus the greater one lives in you and he has already calm the storms. He wants you and I to do what he did, speak to the storm. Do not allow the storm to disrupt your peace of mind, or rob you of your joy. Jesus is the Prince, he synchronized the outer peace of the environment with his inner peace by speaking to the storm. This peace he leaves with us not as the world gives. Now you have what it takes to synchronize the peace of Christ within and the of your world without.

Knowledge is power
The greatest weapon you have is the knowledge. Knowledge is power; therefore, equip yourself with the word of God. Surround yourself with the word of God daily. Read portions of the word out loud to drown out and eventually shut off the voices speaking in your mind. Take time to communicate with God- He desires to walk and talk with you. Keep practicing it and you will find that Jesus speaks to you. If you feel like your mind is the battle field or the storm is raging in your mind then speak up, open your mouth and speak the word. Declare” I will not die but live”, declare, “God has not given to me a fear but power love and a sound mind”. Play worshipful music, listen to messages, find quiet times to mediate on Jesus and simply surround yourself with godly influences. Put the word of God in you, that’s knowledge, that’s power and you will not regret it. The difference between our knowledge and defeat is knowing that we already possess victory in Christ Jesus.

Advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth!

Prayer is your greatest weapon!