Day 40

The Amazing Grace of God

            In the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation, Jesus had a message for seven churches that He wanted the Apostle John to write down. The first of these churches was the church of Ephesus. As we take another look at Revelation 2:1-7 and see the message that Jesus delivered to the church of Ephesus, I can’t help but to notice that there are great similarities between the church of Ephesus and many modern day churches in America today.

            Jesus started off by praising the church that in the midst of all the trials and tribulation they faced, they continued to serve God in their perseverance. Although persecution today in the American church is nothing compared to the persecution the first century church went through, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to be a Christian in American society. Yet, at the same time the faithful few continue to persevere. Secondly, Jesus praised them for the fact that they did not tolerate evil men. Immorality and wickedness have become a normal way of life in our modern American society. It is easy to conform to the wickedness of man’s ways as many churches have. However, most churches today still continue to raise the banner of morality and holiness. Lastly, Jesus praised them for their firm stance on the Word of God by putting to the test those who claimed to be apostles and were not. Liberalism has certainly wrapped its ugly paws around many of our churches, denominations, bible colleges, and seminaries by denying the accuracy and reliability of God’s Word. Yet, when I look at the average Christian that is faithful to the Lord and stands firm in their walk, they believe the Word of God to be nothing short of accurate truth just as God has intended us to have.  

            Although Jesus had these three words of praise for the church of Ephesus, He also had something against them. Jesus said to this church in Revelation 2:4, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Although they persevered through trials, stood against immorality, and stood firm on the Word of God by testing those who had contrary teachings, they were a church that was simply going through the motions. They lost their zeal, their passion, and their drive because they had left their first love. They were no longer motivated to persevere, stand for morality, or stand firm on God’s Word because of their love for Christ. Tradition had now set in so that they were simply doing things the way they have always done. 

            Unfortunately, so many of our churches slipped into this slump and are operating out of a sense of duty and obligation rather than a fiery passion of love for the Lord. Jesus told them what His desire was for them in Revelation 2:5, He said, “therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first.” They needed to repent and turn to their first love. Their first love is none other than Jesus Himself. He also told them to do the deeds they did at first. Looking at this church on the outside, one would think this is a wonderful church doing wonderful deeds. However, their deeds were not centered around their love for the Lord; therefore, they have no power in them. Jesus desired for them to repent, returning to the deeds that were centered out of their love for Him.

            Jesus also told the church if they did not repent that He would remove the golden lampstand from their midst. Jesus tells us in Revelation 1:20 that the lampstand is the representation of the church itself. I believe other scripture such as Revelation 4:5 points to the lampstand as being a symbol of the Holy Spirit that anoints the church to fulfill the seven-fold calling that God has placed upon the church that we see outlined in Isaiah 61:1, 2. In other words, what Jesus was saying to the church is that if they do not repent, He then will remove the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit from their midst.

            Once a church has left its first love and the Holy Spirit is removed, all that remains is the powerless operation of the flesh. Because of this, we have seen a surge in new church plants popping up throughout America. As a church planter, I am all for new church starts. However, when we see the heart of Jesus towards the church of Ephesus, we see His heart wants to apply grace through their repentance. He wants to heal the existing church through their repentance. Jesus’ heart is that all of His churches are filled with the anointing power of His Spirit. However, if we are not operating as a result of our love of the Lord, then He will not permit His Spirit to move; and we are forced to operate in the flesh. Choosing to operate in the flesh is as foolish as choosing to wage a war with a mighty army using nothing more than water pistols.

            How then do we repent and return to the love of the Lord? “And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways.” God said when we do this, He not only will hear from heaven giving us the power to serve Him, He will also forgive our sins. When we recognize our sinfulness and turn to the Lord, He applies grace to our lives. The grace of God is the unmerited favor of God. As we come to the realization of God’s grace in our lives, I believe we won’t have any other desire but to love Him and serve Him from a heart of pure love.

Day 40 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that the people of God will live out the principles of II Chronicles 7:14
• Pray that the people of God’s faith will move them to works.
• Pray each section of II Chronicles 7:14 over yourself and your church.
• Ask God to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 39

God’s Power is Unlimited

            The simple fact is our finite minds are not capable of understanding the fullness of God’s power. God’s power is unlimited in every way. Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “with people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Man cannot comprehend the fact that God is unlimited in His every way because we are limited in every way. I Corinthians 1:25 says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Naturally, we know that God has no foolishness, nor is He weak in any way. What the Apostle Paul is telling us is although we think we are wise, our wisdom is foolishness compared to God. Although we think we are strong, our strength is nothing compared to God’s. He is unlimited in His every way.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” The power that works in us is the power of the Holy Spirit that we receive upon entering into a relationship with Jesus by faith and faith alone. Although we are limited in our every way, we can choose to move ourselves out of the way.  We start by recognizing we are not our own, we are God’s children, bought with the blood of Christ and called to serve Him. When we humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, we make ourselves available to the unlimited power of God that can achieve “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” Again, we cannot even comprehend the unlimited power of Almighty God!

God gave the solid promise that when we align ourselves with requirements of II Chronicles 7:14 that He would “hear from heaven”.  This means we have unhindered access by prayer to the throne of God. I John 5:14, 15 says, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” Wow! What a promise from God’s own Word! If we ask anything according to His will, we can have confidence that He hears us and that we will have the request that was submitted unto Him.

“How then do we know that what we are asking is God’s will and not our own?” you may ask. Again, we know we are asking God’s will when we are totally immersed in the center of God, filled with His Spirit, and seeking His ways and not our own. It is at this time when we are centered in Him and filled with His Spirit that our prayers are not our own will but His will. Centering ourselves in Christ removes our will, our heart, and our desires and replaces it with God’s will, God’s heart, and God’s desires. From here, we have confidence that He hears, us and we will have the request we have made unto Him.

            As a child I grew up on U.S. Air Force missile bases. On those basses were heavily guarded nuclear warheads attached to missiles that were ready to launch at any moment upon the order of the President of the United States. In order to get even remotely close to these missiles would require high security clearances. Everyone knows of the great devastation that nuclear warheads are capable of. You wouldn’t want just anyone to have access to these highly dangerous missiles. Only through the order of the President can these missiles be launched. He and he alone has the authority. However, due to its devastating capabilities and the fact that it would most certainly impact innocent civilian life, the President would never give that order until he has been fully advised by his staff, all of his intelligence agencies, and the military. Only then would he determine that launching a nuclear missile is the right call and the last resort.

            When we have direct access to heaven, we have access to a far more devastating force to the kingdom of Satan than any nuclear weapon could ever be. We have access to such a powerful force that strikes not only a far more devastation blow to the devil’s dominion than a nuclear bomb but also a perfectly precise blow where the innocent will not be harmed. As a matter of fact, when Satan’s kingdom is brought down, not only will the innocent be safe and secure, they will be blessed. II Corinthians 10:3-6 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.” Unlike the weapons of the flesh, the divinely powerful weapons of God are unlimited in their power and capabilities. When we choose to push self to the side and operate in God’s power, we will take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ; and we will reclaim this land!

Day 39 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that the people of God will live out the principles of II Chronicles 7:14
• Pray that the people of God’s faith will move them to works.
• Pray each section of II Chronicles 7:14 over yourself and your church.
• Ask God to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 38

I Show You My Faith by My Works

            Again God has clearly stated in II Chronicles 7:14 that when we align ourselves with His ways, He will then hear from us, forgive us of all of our sins, and heal this land. Clearly, this land is in a devastating spiritual drought, is being destroyed by the devourer, and is full of pestilence. We have already discussed in detail our need to fully rely on God-never trusting in ourselves but placing our trust in Him-for Him to move mightily through us. So why then does God require certain things of us before He will work through us?

            Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Clearly, works do not save us. Going to church, being baptized, serving, giving, sacrificing or any other work or deed will not save us. Due to our sin, we are totally depraved and separated from God. We are saved only by the work that Jesus did on the cross and given eternal life by the power of His resurrection. We receive that gift of salvation by placing our faith in the work of Jesus and not our own. Titus 3:5 also tells us, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” God’s Word is clear; we are saved by Jesus works and not our own.

            Unfortunately, some people then get the unbiblical idea that we are not saved by works; therefore, God does not require works from me. That is, however, a lie that Satan has sold to the church for the purpose of keeping us silent and impotent so the church would not operate in the power and the authority God has given to it. We need to understand that God has clearly called all of His children to work for Him. We don’t work for our salvation; we willing work for the Lord because of our salvation. James 2:18 says, “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

            If we choose not to align ourselves with God’s plan that He has clearly outlined for us in II Chronicles 7:14, we are then choosing to not be used of God. God will not work with an unwilling vessel. Throughout God’s Word, He gives us the choice of living for Him and, therefore, be used of Him. In Joshua 24, Joshua gave the children of Israel a choice of going back to the gods of Egypt and serving them or continuing to follow the one true God. He said in Joshua 24:15, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” To go back and serve the gods of the Amorites or the Egyptians would be going back to enslavement and cursing; to continue to follow the one true God and serve Him would mean freedom and blessings. When we choose to align ourselves in accordance to His will and His plans for our lives, we are choosing the abundant blessings of God upon our lives. 

            God has given us His plan in II Chronicles 7:14 for the purpose of getting us out of the way so God can use us for His purpose and for His glory, filling us with His power. When aligning ourselves with the truths and promises of II Chronicles 7:14, our will, our wisdom, and our might is then fully surrendered to God’s will, God’s wisdom, and God’s might. Then and only then will we place ourselves in a position of allowing God to work through us. God refuses to work through unwilling vessels. However, when we recognize we are His and not our own and that we are called to serve Him, when we choose to humble ourselves before Him and pray, and when we choose to seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, we have chosen to be willing vessels of God to be used as instruments of righteousness so His power and authority can be enacted upon the earth. While in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus gave us the greatest example of this truth in the most difficult trial in His life when He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).

Day 38 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that the people of God’s faith will move them to works.
• Pray that the people of God will live out the principles of II Chronicles 7:14
• Pray each section of II Chronicles 7:14 over yourself and your church.
• Ask God to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 37

The End Result

“Then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.”

When We Do Our Part, God Will Do His Part

            Just as God had told Solomon that night “I have heard your prayer” (II Chronicles 7:12), we understand that these same principles, along with this same promise, still stand to this very day. When we come into agreement with God and apply II Chronicles 7:14 to our lives God will hear our prayers. When we know who we are, His children, and accept the call He has placed upon our lives, when we humble ourselves before Him and pray and seek His face, and when we choose to turn from our wicked ways and live according to His standards, God says, “then, will I hear from heaven forgive their sins, and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14).

            We must understand that God isn’t in the business of saying, “Let’s make a deal” No, God says “This is the deal.” We have to choose to accept our part. When we choose to accept our part, we know with full confidence and faith that God will fulfill His part. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” In other words, if God has said He is going to do something, you can rest assured He will. His promises do not change and His Word He will forever keep.

            We see in the Old Testament the promise of the coming Messiah. God told us how He would be born (Isa. 7:14), what family He would come from (Isa. 37:31), what town He would be born in (Micah 5:2), what town He would grow up in (Isa. 9:1, 2), what He would do (Isa. 61:1, 2), and if that’s not amazing enough, even when He would come (Daniel 9:24-27). We find that Jesus perfectly fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy of His first coming. God has kept every single one of His promises.

Just as we see the fulfillment of the prophecies of Christ’s first coming, there are many prophecies of His second coming as well. What we need to understand is that when God has given a promise, even if it is a promise of the future, it is done. Not just that it will be done one day in the future-IT IS DONE. We need to stand on the promises of God in full faith and conviction that when we do our part, God will do His part.

II Chronicles 7:1 says, “Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house.” When King Solomon accepted the call God placed upon him, when he humbled himself and prayed, and when he sought God’s face and turned from His wicked ways along with the rest of the nation of Israel, the fire of God (God’s very presence), came down and consumed the House of the Lord.

God’s Shekinah Glory had consumed the house of the Lord to the point that the priest could not even come in to minister. All they could do was step back in awe and wonder and worship. This is when true revival takes place. Not some false fire that we try to conjure up within ourselves but the fire of God falling and ministering so mightily that no man, woman, or even the smallest child would ever doubt or wonder if this is God or man. They would know as well as they know their own names that this is the power and the presence of God.

II Chronicles 7:3 says, “All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, “Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When the people of the land saw the presence of God fall down, they were compelled to worship Him. My constant prayer is that God would move so mightily upon the land that no man, church, denomination, or movement would receive any glory-that everyone would see that it’s by God’s hand. He alone would receive full glory. He has promised us He would do His part so the question is: Are we going to do our part?  

Day 37 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that the people of God will live out the principles of II Chronicles 7:14
• Pray each section of II Chronicles 7:14 over yourself and your church.
• Ask God to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 36

The Domino Effect

            Coming to the point of turning from our wicked ways is truly an act of God. I was talking to a lady at church this past Sunday who is struggling with forgiving someone that has done something awful to her. Although God’s requirement is to forgive, she could not possibly come to the point of forgiveness on her own. God must initiate that within her. However, she needs to set herself up to allow God to initiate that within her. When we take another look at II Chronicles 7:14, we discover that each part fits together kind of like a puzzle with the end result of turning from our wicked ways.

            We first discover we have a problem. As God said in II Chronicles 7:13, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people.” When we realize we are in a spiritual drought and that the devourer has come and the pestilence soon follows, we realize that we are truly in trouble. We have fought and fought, but we then come to the understanding that there is nothing we can do. We are utterly helpless.

            This then brings us to the realization that we need to turn to God for the solution. God is the solution; yet, He has given us (His people called by His name) charge in representing Him upon the earth. He has called us to carry out His statutes that His name shall be glorified among the nations and praised with the highest of exultation. God has called every man and woman that is a child of His to serve Him for the purpose of bringing the gospel into the entire world and reclaiming the land for the Lord.

            When we then come to realize the call that God has placed upon our lives and that we are no longer living life for selfish pursuits but living for the purpose of giving God glory it should then initiate humility into our lives where we humbly submit ourselves to His authority understanding that we are not self-sufficient in any way. We need the power of God working in our lives to fulfill the call He has placed upon our lives. Apart from the power of God, we know that we will fail miserably; and this world will have no hope of redemption.

            When we do come to the realization that we are not self sufficient it will then humble us to the point of calling upon the one who is more than sufficient, God. We then discover the power of prayer through faith and total dependency upon God; and it will stir our hearts to seek, to ask, and to knock. We know that the door will be open because we are not asking or seeking our own will or our own desires or our own goals but the will, desires, and goals of God.

            When we then know the call God has placed upon our lives and we accept it, it brings us to humility and prayer. This then will lead us to the place where we are seeking His face, and seeking to know Him, to serve Him, and to worship Him. Once our hearts are compelled to start truly seeking Him, we are at the point of no return. There will be no stopping us. Our hearts will be so filled with love and admiration for God that we will long for the hour of prayer. Upon understanding His might, glory, and splendor, we will understand what an honor it is to know and serve Him; and in the most natural of ways, we will humble ourselves before His majesty praying and seeking His face.

            The final ingredient of II Chronicles 7:14 will then be the most natural part of them all: turning from our wicked ways. We will be so in love with the Lord that He will be our focus; He will be our desire; and He will fill our hearts, our souls, and our minds with the measure of fullness with His love. When we are full of God, we have no room for anything else. If we are full of God, we truly are full. Just as the unrepentant soul is by nature a child of wrath (according to Ephesians 2:3), the nature of the child full of God will be purity. Colossians 3:8-10 says, “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

            Rest assured the closer we try to get to the Lord, the closer the devil will try to get to us. The devil isn’t concerned with the man on the barstool. Why? Because he’s already where the devil wants him. However, the devil knows the closer we try to get to God, the more dangerous we are to his kingdom. He doesn’t want us on fire for God and will throw every form of temptation He can our way. However, James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Let God have the victory in your life, and let’s get busy reclaiming this land for the Lord. Allow the domino effect of II Chronicles 7:14 to work in your life by knowing you are a child of God called by His name. This will produce humility in your life causing you to then pray which will motivate you to seek His face, and, when you find Him, just as Isaiah did, you will turn from your wicked ways. 

Day 36 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that all of God’s Children would recognize and respond to God’s holiness.
• Pray that God would convict us of all that He deems wicked, and that we would repent.
• Pray that the church would repent of its wicked and stagnant heart in its refusal to live in obedience to God’s purpose and call.
• Ask God to forgive and restore the church to an upright position.
• Ask God to remove anyone or anything that would refuse to submit to His holy standards.
• Pray that our standard would be nothing short of holiness.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 35

Seeking His Face Produces Holiness

            In the eyes of the world, the Prophet Isaiah was a holy man. He was a righteous prophet of God who others strived to be like. In the fifth chapter of the book of Isaiah, the prophet pronounced six woes upon the people of the land proclaiming the judgment of God upon them, as well as the punishment that would come as a result of the wickedness of their hearts. Isaiah was correct and justified in every woe he pronounced. However, in the next chapter we find Isaiah in the very presence of God where he then pronounced a woe upon himself as he says in Isaiah 6:5, “Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” 

            What was the difference between the fifth and sixth chapters? In the sixth chapter Isaiah was standing in the very presence of God. In Isaiah 6:1-4 he describes how he saw “the Lord lofty and exulted sitting upon His throne.” He saw the angels before Him worshiping Him and heard them proclaim, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” When Isaiah stood in God’s presence and saw Him in all His majesty and glory and when he recognized the absolute Holiness of God, he also recognized that any righteousness he thought he had pales in comparison to God’s.

            Upon the recognition of his sinfulness in the presence of God’s holiness, he proclaimed in verse five, “woe is me, for I am ruined.” He knew that sin could not come into the presence of God and would, therefore, be destroyed. He knew in his heart that he would be ruined, undone, destroyed. However, upon his confession of sin, God chose to give him grace and cleanse him from his sin instead of condemn him. When Isaiah recognized the grace that God had given to him, he chose to worship and serve Him all the days of his life. 

            Many years later Isaiah proclaimed the word of the Lord in Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.” We see that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts; and His ways are not our ways, when we are okay with sin. We have no problem with the little white lies or the stirring up of strife so long as we get our way. We have no problems walking in the conformity of the world, although we are ignorantly walking against God rather than with Him. For this reason, we so desperately need to seek God! We need His presence in our lives to show us His ways so we can repent of our own, to know His thoughts so we can rebuke the lies and deception we thought were truth.

            When we seek God and find Him as His word promises us we will, we discover how sinful we truly are in light of how holy He truly is. This should then provoke repentance of sin within our lives, drawing us all the more in love and on fire for a holy God. God has promised us in I John 1:9 that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When He forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, we then can have true fellowship with God.

            However, we need to truly seek God in our lives. Apart from Him we have no desire to repent from sins. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” God gives us the “will” to live “for His good pleasure”. Apart from the presence of God in our lives, we won’t have any will to repent of our sins and serve Him. Jesus also said in John 16:8 that He sends the Helper, which is the Holy Spirit. “When He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” Praise God we do not have to fight the battles of the flesh on our own. He has given to us a Helper.

However we need to submit ourselves to the standards of God and seek the Helper to guide us down that path. A great scripture that I often pray is Psalm 139:23, 24 which says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” I seek God asking Him to search me and try me because I may be unaware of sinful attitudes and actions within my life. Everyone else in my life may know of my sins, but I could be totally in the dark. However, when I seek God and ask Him to search me and try me and to show me everything in my life that does not line up with Him, He will. This then will produce a heart and a mind of repentance to where I will fully know the grace and mercy of God through a life of fellowship with God. He is a holy God that not only requires holiness within my life but will also produce it, if I seek Him and allow Him. 

Day 35 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that all of God’s Children would recognize and respond to God’s holiness.
• Pray that God would convict us of all that He deems wicked, and that we would repent.
• Pray that the church would repent of its wicked and stagnant heart in its refusal to live in obedience to God’s purpose and call.
• Ask God to forgive and restore the church to an upright position.
• Ask God to remove anyone or anything that would refuse to submit to His holy standards.
• Pray that our standard would be nothing short of holiness.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 34

Have We Evicted God From Our Churches?

            We wonder why the hand of God has not been moving in our churches today. Although there are many problems, the major one is sin. We have in our churches today racism, gossip, slander, backbiting, unforgiveness, envy, fighting for control, lack of faith, and lack of faithfulness-just to name a few. We have become so bold as to tell God, “No, I will not witness; no, I will not study your word; no, I will not tithe; no, I will not serve You; no, I will not pray unless I stand personally in need; and no, I will not live a life of holiness. The sin of our rebellion and arrogance has caused a stench of wicked pollution that has driven the hand of God’s blessings away. It is true that the world has slipped further and further away from the standards of God. However, I believe it is a direct result of the church slipping further and further away from the standards of God.

            One of the greatest blessings of attending seminary was getting to go to chapel and hear some extraordinary preachers. However, after one particular chapel service, I left with a heavy heart. Everything started off just fine until the preacher stood up to preach. Right away, I recognized the sermon that he was preaching. It was an Adrian Rogers sermon that Dr. Rogers had preached a few weeks prior. I would listen to Adrian Rogers every morning in my long commute to the seminary, and this particular sermon really stuck with me.  I didn’t have a problem with the chapel speaker preaching an Adrian Rogers sermon; I considered preaching it myself. However, when it came time for the illustration that Dr. Rogers had given of a situation between himself and his wife, the chapel speaker gave the exact same illustration as though it happened to him. He lied to us! That didn’t happen to him; it happened to the original deliverer of the sermon, Adrian Rogers.

            Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,  A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” Not only does God hate a lying tongue-even if it’s through the mouth of a preacher-He also hates one who spreads strife among brothers.

A few years ago I was listening to a worship song on the internet that was beautifully anointed. I was in the presence of the Lord while listening to it, and I started reading all the comments below. Everyone was thanking the individual that posted such a beautiful song and giving God praise because He is worthy of worship. However, my spirit was quickly quenched when I came upon a comment from someone of a non-denominational persuasion. He pointed out how the song was recorded at a Baptist Church’s worship service. He then proceeded to tell us how we should all become non-denominationalists because all that denominations do is put up walls of division. However, he himself was the only one putting up walls of division.

            I have nothing against non-denominationalism, nor do I have anything against any other denomination as long as they are Biblically based and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sure, we disagree on some issues; but if we can agree on the fundamentals of the faith, we are brothers and there is no need to stir up strife amongst one another. I had not even noticed where the song had been recorded. Nor did I care. It was a song that I loved, and the singer was doing an amazing job. All of the comments prior to this divisive comment had been good and pure comments glorifying God. However, after this simple comment stirred the fuel of strife, the conversation changed from being glorious to argumentative-an argument that gave no glory to God! By the way, this video was not on a Christian site; it was on a secular site for anyone to see. And, we wonder why lost people so often don’t want to have anything to do with the church. 

            Christians have and will disagree on any given topic, just as families do. I am a Baptist and have discovered if you get ten Baptist pastors in a room, you may get ten different ideas about any given doctrinal issue. Disagreement and debate can make us stronger if we do it in a Christ-like way.  In the past I had the great privilege of pastoring a church that was experiencing significant growth.  The church grew to the point where a new educational building was needed. Everyone in the church was in total agreement with building the new building with the exception of one deacon and his family. He wasn’t belligerent about it but was very vocal in expressing his views.

            When the time came for the church’s final vote in approving the new building, it was very clear things were not going to go his way. He came to me just prior to the vote and told me “Pastor, you know how I feel about this building and, therefore, you know how I am going to vote.” I then said, “Yes, sir, I do.” He then said to me, “If the church as a whole chooses to approve this building, I will then fully support it both financially as well as physically.” After the church approved the building project, he did just what he said he would do. Never again did I hear from him a word of opposition. He willingly submitted himself to the will of the church, choosing not to stir up strife among them. This man of God has since gone on to be with the Lord, and the great respect I had for him prior to this event only increased afterwards. How desperately our churches need more like him!

Day 34 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that all of God’s Children would recognize and respond to God’s holiness.
• Pray that God would convict us of all that He deems wicked, and that we would repent.
• Pray that the church would repent of its wicked and stagnant heart in its refusal to live in obedience to God’s purpose and call.
• Ask God to forgive and restore the church to an upright position.
• Ask God to remove anyone or anything that would refuse to submit to His holy standards.
• Pray that our standard would be nothing short of holiness.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 33

Our God is a Holy God

            We try so hard to justify our sins. We say things like “A little white lie has never hurt anyone” or “It’s okay if I take a little more than what’s mine; after all I deserve it.” We entertain ourselves with things that curse God’s name and promote the very things that God calls an abomination. We have allowed ourselves to become conformed to the ways of this world yet God’s word says in Romans 12:2, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We need to understand that God is not okay with sin-any sin-not even a little white lie!

            I Peter 1:15, 16 says, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” God is holy in all His ways, His thoughts, His actions, and His motivation; even in His wrath and anger, He is holy. We so often fail to recognize the holiness of God. We fail to recognize that when we choose to sin (yes, even the small sin) and make excuses for our sin, we are dishonoring the very nature of God and who He has created us to be. He is holy and, therefore, requires His children to be holy. We ask and seek and knock; and when the door does not open, we automatically assume that there is something wrong with God. Rest assured there is nothing wrong with God. The short circuit will always be found on our end.

            We need to ask ourselves, “Are we living out the holy lives God has called us to live”, or are we living lives that glory in the flesh and the things of this world? Have we been conformed to this world? Are your daily thoughts of God, or of this world? Do your actions glorify God or point to the world? Is your attitude one of Christ-likeness or of careless desires that lead down the path of least resistance? Is God your constant object of worship or do you marvel at the mortal ways of man?

            It isn’t difficult to discover who we are living for if we simply take an honest look at how we are living. I John 1:5, 6 says, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Clearly this scripture is teaching us that if we have fellowship with God we will not walk in darkness. Walking in darkness is walking in sin. If we walk in darkness we are walking in sin and, therefore, do not have fellowship with God. God is holy and, therefore, will not fellowship with an unrepentant sinner.

            I am not saying that a Christian cannot sin. All Christians are susceptible to slipping into sin. However, this scripture is talking about walking in sin, not slipping in it. If you slip and fall, you get right back up, repent of your actions, and continue walking in the right path. However, if we are walking in darkness it is a demonstration of who we are. It is the consistent pattern of our lives. I Corinthians 6:9, 10 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

            Does this mean that anyone who has ever been drunk or stolen anything or has been guilty of coveting cannot be saved? Of course not! Paul is speaking here of the unrepentant soul whose sin define who they are. They are continually walking in and practicing the very things that God tells them to turn away from. The holy nature of God will not allow Him to fellowship with the unrepentant sinner. The Bible is clear, if we say we have fellowship with God yet we have unrepentant sin in our lives, we are liars. The Bible tells us to repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38). To repent is to turn away.

            As we have already discussed, the church is the representation of the Kingdom of God upon this earth. We are commanded in God’s Word to preach the gospel of repentance to the whole world. The church should with open arms be inviting and welcoming to the sinners just as Jesus does, but expecting repentance and change within their lives. However, to the one who calls himself a Christian yet chooses to live in open and rebellious sin against God,  II Corinthians 5:11, 12 says, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.” Although we think little sins like little white lies are acceptable, be reminded that due to a little white lie about an offering God was the first to remove the wicked man from the church. (See Acts 5:1-11). God is holy and is in full expectation of His children and His church to be holy.

Day 33 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that all of God’s Children would recognize and respond to God’s holiness.
• Pray that God would convict us of all that He deems wicked, and that we would repent.
• Pray that the church would repent of its wicked and stagnant heart in its refusal to live in obedience to God’s purpose and call.
• Ask God to forgive and restore the church to an upright position.
• Ask God to remove anyone or anything that would refuse to submit to His holy standards.
• Pray that our standard would be nothing short of holiness.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 32

Honoring His Presence

“Turn from their wicked ways”

Getting the Log out of Our Eyes

            As Christians we love to point our fingers at the wicked ways of the world. We amen the destruction of the drunkard; we applaud the announcement of God’s accusations of the abominable; we proclaim the woes to the wicked; and stand in horror of the homosexual. Yet all the while, we have sin in our camp. We don’t mind focusing on the world’s shortcomings and sins, yet, we get angry if anyone dare proclaim that we are sinful. Yet the Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and again it says in Isaiah 53:6, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” The Bible is even so bold as to tell us that if we say we have no sin, we are liars, and we make God out to be a liar. (I John 1:8, 10).

            I have seen picketers with rage in their eyes holding signs proclaiming “God Hates Fags” and preachers proclaiming the horrors of hell with smiles on their faces. We self righteously judge the world and proclaim God’s condemnation upon the wicked, not realizing the hate in our hearts is standing in direct contradiction to a loving God. We say they deserve hell and condemnation for their sins while failing to remember who or where we would be apart from the grace of God. The fact is that they do deserve the eternal condemnations of hell; yet, at the same time, we do too. Lest we forget, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

            Without a doubt John 3:16 is one of the most memorized and quoted verse in all of scripture. However, we so often fail to remember what Jesus continued to say in the next verse, John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” If the sinner refuses to repent in this life and give His life to the Lord, he will face judgment followed by condemnation. The scriptures are clear on this fact. However, Jesus didn’t come into this world to condemn; He came to save! If we are to have the mind of Christ, our hearts should not be focused toward the condemnation of this world; it should be focused on the salvation of this world. To wish for condemnation upon anyone stands in direct contradiction to God and is, therefore, sinful. Yes, the unrepentant will be judged! Yet, II Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” I’m not saying we should not preach against sin nor stand up against immorality. We should! However, we should do it with the desired result of repentance and not condemnation.

            What’s even worse than the Christian who hates the sinner is the Sunday morning pew warmer that could care less. They are cold in their hearts toward the salvation of the world, not caring if the country of China comes to Christ, much less their own community-at least not enough to stand up and do anything about it. They fail to come to the realization that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came down from the glories of heaven not only to shed His precious blood for their personal souls but for the souls of the whole world. “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

            Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Before we can ever be of any use to the Kingdom of God, we must first get the log of self-righteousness and stagnation out of our own eyes. We must understand that our self-righteous and self serving attitudes have harmed the Kingdom of God much more than it has helped. We must repent.

Day 32 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that all of God’s Children would recognize and respond to God’s holiness.
• Pray that God would convict us of all that He deems wicked, and that we would repent.
• Pray that the church would repent of its wicked and stagnant heart in its refusal to live in obedience to God’s purpose and call.
• Ask God to forgive and restore the church to an upright position.
• Ask God to remove anyone or anything that would refuse to submit to His holy standards.
• Pray that our standard would be nothing short of holiness.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 31

We Can Know God Through the Holy Spirit

            The depths of God are so far beyond the wisdom of man’s rationale. We try to comprehend the wonders of who God is with the mind of man and leave greatly disappointed. To truly understand who God is, we need a master teacher-a teacher who perfectly understands the character of God and is able to skillfully teach even the most unteachable the wonderful riches of God’s glory and splendor.  

God has indeed given us a master teacher. Our master teacher is none other than the Holy Spirit Himself. Paul explained in I Corinthians 2:9 what our master teacher, the Holy Spirit, is capable of revealing to us. “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” We often make the mistake of putting a future tense on this scripture. However, Paul was not speaking of revelations of God to come. As you look at the entirety of I Corinthians 2, you see that Paul was telling us the master teacher, the Holy Spirit, opens our eyes to those truths today. 

I Corinthians 2:10 says, “for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” Who better to teach us than the Holy Spirit, the one who searches even the deep things of God? Paul also said in the next verse, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.” Again, who better to teach us the thoughts and mind of God other than His very own Spirit?

Paul continues in verse fourteen of the same chapter by saying, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” The natural man is the unsaved man who does not have the Holy Spirit within him. Therefore, he cannot understand nor comprehend the things of God. He has no teacher. However, of the Christian Paul says in verse twelve of the same chapter, “we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” God has given us His Spirit so we may know Him, and the Holy Spirit will reveal all the truths of God, even the “depths of God.”

Again, God wants us to know Him. He has given us everything we need to know Him. Jesus died on the cross to remove the obstacle of sin; He lived before us to demonstrate His character; He has given us His Holy Word; and He has given us His Spirit to bring us the revelation of it all. What an awesome God we truly serve. We are truly lacking in nothing. The conclusion then is this: If we do not know God, it is not because God has not given us the opportunity to know Him. It is because we have chosen not to know Him.

Romans 8:14 says, “for all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” When we set in our hearts and minds to truly seek God, we must totally submit ourselves to the Spirit of God. Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” So often we put full attention on not being drunk with wine with no attention on being filled with the Spirit. If we are filled with God’s Spirit, we don’t have to worry about the “drunk on wine” part. Why? If we are full of the Spirit, we are full; and there is no room for anything else. If we are full of the Spirit, we are full of God; and God will then draw us into His glory.

Day 31 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that our foremost desire would be to know God more.
• Pray that all Christians would hunger and thirst for God.
• Pray that the world will see the churches utmost desire for God and be drawn to Him.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 30

We Know God Through Jesus

            The Old and New Testaments alike teach us the truths of the Trinitarian form of God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Although they are all three God, at the same time God is one. We see them in their separate forms most clearly in Jesus’ Baptism. Jesus is in the river being baptized, the Spirit is descending on Him as a dove, and the Father is speaking the words, “this is My Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17).

            The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus and guides us in all truth, (John 16:12-14). In the same way Jesus has come to reveal and glorify the Father, so when we see Jesus, we have seen the Father. (John 17:25-26). God in His Trinitarian form exists to glorify Himself. When we receive Christ, we receive His Spirit. His Spirit then gives revelation of Jesus, and Jesus gives revelation of the Father so that we may know God in all His fullness.

            Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is “the exact representation” of His Father. Although I have characteristics of my father, I am not his exact representation. To be his exact representation is to be all that he is in every way. Jesus is all that the Father is; the Father is all that Jesus is in every way. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus responded in John 14:9-11, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

            John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:14 then says, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Who is this “Word” that John speaks of? It is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, God who took upon flesh and dwelt among men. John called Jesus the “Word” in this text of scripture. The Greek word for this is Logos. It is the same word that we get the word logo. Like many other churches our church has a logo. When we made our church’s logo we wanted it to represent who we are as a church. We wanted it to be a visual description of who we are and what we stand for.

            Jesus is the Word of God. He is God that has taken upon flesh to dwell among men to be a visual description of God so that we may see His glory. If we desire to know God, we must know Jesus. Although we see Jesus in all of the Bible, Old and New Testaments alike, the greatest place to discover the truths of who Jesus is in the gospels. We see His passion, we see His compassion, we see His likes, we see His dislikes, we discover His heart, and we learn His truths.

            The man that led me to the saving grace of God gave me the greatest advice anyone could have ever given. He told me to start reading God’s Word and advised me to start in John. I had never read the Bible before. As a matter of fact, before I became a Christian I didn’t like to read anything. However, that night I was drawn to His Word, and I started reading through the book of John. Although I wasn’t much on reading, I read through the whole book of John that night without putting the Bible down. After finishing John, I then started Matthew; after Matthew I was intensely glued to God’s Word.

            The day I accepted Jesus in my heart and started reading His Word I was a drug addicted young man full of hate and bitterness. I was at the lowest point of my life where I was continually contemplating ending it all. Yet, by the time I had concluded reading the gospels, this bitter and broken man was transformed to a blazing inferno set on fire for the Lord. Why? Because for the first time in my life, I discovered who Jesus truly was, and I fell madly in love with Him!

Although I had accepted Christ into my life just prior to reading His Word, my life was still broken. I had read through John, and I was now deep into Matthew. Just at the break of daylight after reading all night, I started reading how this glorious man-God’s own Son, God in the flesh-laid down His life for me on the cross. Although I had been told many times prior, it struck me for the very first time that Jesus laid down His life on the cross for me.

Out of compulsion I fell on my face before the Lord weeping. All I could say was “I’m sorry Lord, I’m sorry.” After a period of time (how much I do not know) a sense of overwhelming peace came over me with a love like I had never known before. God’s presence had consumed me. The God of whom I had searched for in written word came to life within me. His Word spoke to me that night because Jesus is the Word of God, alive and well still to this day, dwelling among men. If you seek Him, you will find Him!!! (Jeremiah 29:13).

I often think of where I might be today had I not taken the advice of the pastor who led me to the Lord and started reading God’s Word. I didn’t start reading the Gospels with the intention of seeking Jesus. However, after my encounter with God that day, He set me on a lifelong path of seeking Him. I came to know who He is, and that very day, I willingly chose to lay my life down in full pursuit of service and surrender unto Him. I came to know who He is and the fact that He was, and is, and always will be worthy of a life of surrender. Paul said in II Timothy 1:12, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him.”

Day 30 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that our foremost desire would be to know God more.
• Pray that all Christians would hunger and thirst for God.
• Pray that the world will see the churches utmost desire for God and be drawn to Him.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 29

The Names of God

            As we think about seeking God for the purpose of finding Him and knowing Him, we discover the wealth of information about who God is in His Word. Again, God has made himself known. The Word of God is full of great insight into the character and nature of God. I have found through the years one of the greatest ways to get to know God is to discover His many names. In today’s world names, for the most part, are generic and have no meaning behind them. We choose names for our children mostly because we like the way they sound.

            However, in biblical days names had meaning; they had value; and they represented the character of the individual. For instance, Jacob’s name meant deceiver. We see through Jacob’s life that many times he fulfilled the nature of his name. After Jacob’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord in Geneses 32, God changed the name of Jacob to Israel, a more fitting name for a patriarch of God’s nation. He no longer was Jacob the deceiver; he was Israel, the one who strives with God. In like manner Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter in Mathew 16 to represent the faith Peter had in who Jesus was. 

            In the Old Testament we find those who called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12:8). Today, we call on the name of Jesus, I Corinthians 1:2. To call on one’s name is to call upon the very nature and character of all they represent and stand for. The Word of God has many names for God representing the nature and character of His person. As we discover His names, we discover who He is and know Him more. As we seek Him, we can know of who we call upon. Psalm 9:10 says, “those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You O Lord have not forsaken those who seek You.”  Everything that we do as Christians is done in the honor of the name of Jesus.

• The name that is exulted above every other name - Philippians 2:9.
• Salvation is through His name - John 1:12,
• Believers gather in His name - Matthew 18:20
• Prayer is to be lifted in His name - John 14:13-14
• Healing comes in His name - Acts 10:22
• We are to magnify His name through our works - Acts 19:17.

“At the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10, 11).  

            In the last chapter, I spoke of the weekly intercessory prayer time my church has. As we begin each time of prayer, we start with praise. Psalm 22:3 says that God “inhabits the praises of His people.” In other words, when God is praised with a pure heart, He shows up. There is great power in praising God, and what better way to praise Him than to call out His name.

There is a wealth of knowledge that comes from the names of God that volumes of books and studies have focused upon. When we discover His name, we discover who He is, and we are better prepared to give Him the praise He deserves.

Some of the names of God:

• El Elyon, the most high God,
• El Olam, the everlasting God,
• El Shaddai, God Almighty,
• Jehovah Jireh, The Lord will provide.
• Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is my Banner
• Jehovah Shalom, The Lord is Peace
• Adonai, Lord, Master
• Abba, an intimate, close, name for father. Like daddy
• And so much more…

Day 29 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that our foremost desire would be to know God more.
• Pray that all Christians would hunger and thirst for God.
• Pray that the world will see the churches utmost desire for God and be drawn to Him.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 28

It’s not Religion

            Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Jesus ended that statement in the same verse with “for they shall be satisfied”. We are blessed and satisfied when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is hungering and thirsting for God.

God has placed a natural void in our lives that He intended to be filled with Himself. However, most people (Christians and non-Christians) try to fill that void in their lives with many things of this world only to discover that they are never satisfied. Money, power, sex, possessions, drugs, or anything else of this world will never satisfy us. Only the righteousness of God that comes from seeking Him will ever satisfy us.

However, if the devil can’t draw us away from God with the immoral rivals of this world, he will attempt to distract us with the invalid rituals of religion. Satan loves religion. That may  strike you as odd at first, but hear me out. We must ask ourselves “what is religion?” Religion for the most part is a system of things that we should do and things that we should not do. It is a meaningless and emotionless system that is only rooted in what we do and is focused entirely on us. The things that are done out of the spirit of religion may be good and proper and even biblical; yet, they are done out of a sense of tradition rather than a Spirit-led soul that seeks the face of God. Many times religious rituals are done out of a sense of guilt, trying to appease God rather than out of a heart that is sold out to God.

As we look in the Gospels, we find that the people that Jesus was the harshest to were the Pharisees. The Pharisees had religion down to an art. However, Jesus said of them in Matthew 25:27, 28, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Religion focuses only on external things to the neglect of the soul. God isn’t concerned with outward things. He is focused on the heart.

Shortly after we planted a new church, God gave us our first convert who repented from her sins and wholeheartedly gave her life to Jesus. When that first convert walked forward, I noticed she was wearing a shirt with a large beer logo on the front of it. It didn’t bother me; however, the religious person would have turned her away and said, “Don’t come back until you are dressed properly.” What we later found was she had lost everything she owned in Hurricane Katrina except the clothes on her back. In the process of rebuilding her life, her newly acquired home as well as her few belongings burned to the ground just a few days before we met. The clothes she had on that day was all she owned, and they were given to her by someone else. Had I been a religious, person I would have turned her away in her most desperate time of need. She most likely then would have viewed all Christians and all churches as cold and heartless, and her soul would have been forever condemned to hell. Yes, Satan loves religion.

Being focused on the external rather than the internal keeps our focus off of God as well. Jesus said in John14:15, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” Notice Jesus did not say, “If you keep My commandments, you will demonstrate your love for Me.” That is religion. However, if we know Jesus because we are seeking Him, we will love Him. And if we love Him we will obey Him-not out of a sense of necessity because that is the right thing to do, but out of a sense of bringing honor and glory to the One we love.

What do you think my wife would have done if on our wedding day I would have said to her, “Honey, I will stay faithful and true to you all the days of my life because that is the socially acceptable thing to do and that is everyone’s expectation of me? Besides, what would everyone think of me if I was ever unfaithful to you?”  She would have thrown the ring back in my face and marched right out of there! I am not faithful to my wife because it is the right thing to do. I am faithful to her because I love her. In like manner, I am not faithful to Jesus because it is the right thing to do. That is religion. I am faithful to Him because I love Him.

God despises religion but longs for relationship. God loved us first; and, therefore, desires for us to love Him back. I John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us.” God doesn’t want our hearts and minds focused on ritualistic religion, but He wants a relationship that longs to know Him more and more. Why do I then go to church? To seek Him and worship Him and to know Him more! Why then do I pray? To seek Him and worship Him and know Him more! Why then do I read His word? To seek Him and worship Him and know Him more! Anything I do for the Lord should be for the purpose of seeking Him, worshiping Him, and knowing Him more-not because it is simply the right thing to do. 

Day 28 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that our foremost desire would be to know God more.
• Pray that all Christians would hunger and thirst for God.
• Pray that the world will see the churches utmost desire for God and be drawn to Him.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 27

Seeking His Face

God’s Heart Yearns That We Know Him

            A few years ago my wife and I were out shopping at a local Wal-Mart. I had to go pick up a few things from another department while she went and looked at clothes. After getting what I needed, I walked into the ladies department and spotted my wife from behind. I walked up beside her, put my arm around her and asked “Are you ready to go?” However, when she turned her head so I could see her face, I realized I had just made a horrible mistake! This was not my wife. I was horrified; and although she never said a word, the expression on her face told me that she was probably much more horrified than I. I immediately turned to see the face of my wife about fifty feet away laughing at me. My wife and I have been married for over twenty years, and I know her well. Unfortunately, on this day by not seeing her face, I made an absolute fool of myself.   

            How many times have we looked at the back of an individual and mistakenly thought it was someone else?  Hopefully, not to my extent of foolishness! How many times have we seen the back of a man and thought it was a woman or the back of a woman and thought it was a man? We can only be certain when we see the face of the individual. Only then we can recognize who they are. Unless someone wanted for a crime has distinguishing marks only the persons face is seen on the wanted poster. If you have seen that person, you know his face. The face of an individual is the most distinct and intimate part of a person that distinguishes them from everyone else.

            For this reason God tells us not only in II Chronicles 7:14 but also in many places throughout scripture to seek His face. To seek His face is to know Him. God’s heart is that we know Him and we seek Him.  Hebrews 11:6 says that “He (God) is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” He rewards us with the power of His presence. There are some things about God that we cannot know today because our finite minds cannot comprehend them. God is an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present being who is in many ways beyond our comprehension. However, God has not hidden Himself nor made His character a mystery. He has made Himself known. He longs for us to seek Him, for us to find Him, and for us to know Him. Jesus said in John 17:3 as He prayed to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

            From the very first man and woman (Adam and Eve) to this present day, God has desired a relationship. God had a close relationship with Adam and Eve while they were in the Garden of Eden. After they had sinned against Him God then set up a sacrificial system in order to continue the relationship. The Old Testament sacrificial system was an imperfect and temporary system that was set up only until the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, came to this world for one purpose. He stated that purpose in Luke 19:10 when He said, “The Son of Man, (Jesus) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” John 1:29 records John the Baptist saying of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of this world.” Jesus came to this world for the purpose of being the Lamb of God who would lay down His life in order that whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord would have a relationship with Him.

            As we clearly see, God desires for us to seek Him and to know Him. I also believe that the more we seek God and the more we come to know God, the more we are going to want to know God. To know Him is to love Him. Moses is the greatest example of this. Moses had one of the most intimate relationships with God that any man on this earth has ever had. He first met God in the burning bush; then he spent forty days on two occasions with God on Mt. Sinai. After the construction of the Tabernacle, he then went and met with God every day.

            Although Moses was grateful for the relationship he had with God and for all the ways God blessed him, Moses still wanted to know more of God. In Exodus 33:12-23 we find the record of Moses asking God to show His glory. God told Moses that no man could see His face and live. However, God showed Moses a passing glimpse of His glory to the extent that it caused Moses’ face to shine. The glory of God transformed Moses, and for the rest of his days he had to wear a veil over his face to cover his glowing face that continued to shine the glory of God all his days.

            Today through Christ we are invited into the very presence of God to bask in His glory. Just as the glory of God transformed Moses life, when we seek and find the glory of God, it will forever transform our lives. But unlike Moses, we do not veil our faces. We allow His glory to shine through us for the world to see. II Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

            We, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have been invited into the very presence of God. We must understand what a high honor that is! When we enter into His presence we enter into His glory. His glory then begins to transform us from who we are into who He is. The more time we spend in the glorious presence of God, the more we become transformed into His likeness. However, if we do not seek Him, we will not find Him. How then do we seek God out? We seek Him through worship, through prayer, through His Word, and through meditation on His Word. Remember, if we seek Him, we will find Him.

Day 27 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that our foremost desire would be to know God more.
• Pray that all Christians would hunger and thirst for God.
• Pray that the world will see the churches utmost desire for God and be drawn to Him.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 26

What if?

We see through the book of Acts the church’s total dependency on God through prayer. After Jesus ascended to the Father, they went into the upper room to wait on the “promise of the Father, the power of the clothing from on high”, the power of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit Himself. (Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:8). Acts 1:14 says that while in the upper room “these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.” For ten days they waited for the power of the Holy Spirit to come-waiting and continually devoted to prayer with one mind. After the ten days of continual prayer, the Holy Spirit came. They then left the upper room empowered by the Spirit of God, and a revival broke out in Jerusalem where three thousand souls were saved.

This is, by the way, the same Jerusalem where fifty days prior Jesus had been crucified, buried, and resurrected. The same people who wanted to stop Jesus-even to the point of killing Him-were the same ones that Peter pointed to and said of Jesus in Acts 2:23,24, “you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again.” Yet, Acts 2:31 tells us that upon this day that “when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” The same people who yelled “Crucify Him” several weeks prior were now “pierced to the heart” with the gospel asking how they should respond to it. 

Who can change a heart so radically other than God? Had they not waited on the Holy Spirit and had they not spent their time in devoted prayer, their efforts would have failed, hearts would not have been pierced, and souls would not have been saved. I believe that we should for a season cease all evangelistic efforts, put away all programs, and cease striving for a moment until we come to the point of knowing He is God. When we are spending time as a congregation with one mind, devoted to prayer for the purpose of the Power of the clothing from on High, the Promise of the Father, and the Power of the Spirit falling upon us. For singular purpose of the power of God moving upon us so we will go into this world in Jesus name and proclaim, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”( Luke 4:18, 19).

So often we fuss over the spiritual condition of our communities. We also complain that no one is motivated to do anything about it. However, Jesus said in Mathew 9:37 & 38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” There is no doubt that the harvest is plentiful. However, Jesus said we are to beseech, or pray, to the Lord of the harvest that He would send the workers.

Jesus also said in John 4:35 that “the fields are white unto harvest.” What Jesus meant by that was if the fields are not harvested soon, they will rot and be forever ruined. How desperately we need workers for the harvesting of souls!  They are white unto harvest and ready for the reaping. What if the church took seriously the call to beseech, or pray to, the Lord of the harvest? Imagine the tremendous reaping of souls we would see!

Every great movement of God throughout the course of church history was sparked simply by God’s people gathered together with a hungry heart, praying and seeking God for His power to fall upon them. It has been one hundred and fifty years since the United States has seen its last great awakening. Although my heart in writing this study is to see a great awakening sweep across America, I cannot say with any certainty or authority that God will necessarily use this study to do that. However, I can say with great certainty, authority, and confidence that a great awakening will not be sparked apart from the biblical principles found in this study. This leads to the question: What if? 

What if our prayer meetings were just that, prayer meetings? What if we stopped spending forty-five minutes taking up prayer requests to spend five minutes praying for them? What if the call to prayer wasn’t just something appointed in the bulletin? What if prayer wasn’t just appointed for the benediction? What if we stopped calling on just one to pray so we could all just stand around and listen? What if the phrase “we will pray about it” wasn’t just a form of tabling a motion or a way of changing the subject? What if the church took seriously the promises of the Word of God and started standing on them? What if the church of the living God, with one mind, devoted themselves to prayer and fasting for the purpose of the power of God falling down upon them? Shall we pray and discover for ourselves? . . . What if?

Day 26 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that Christians will know the importance of intercessory pray and walk in it.
• Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors with a heart for revival in our churches and a great awakening in our land.
• Pray that our churches will be houses of prayer.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 25

Only by Prayer

In 2006 God called me to plant a new church in a highly unchurched area that was full of crime, drugs, and every form of evil imaginable. For the first two years, we stayed busy working hard out in the community through servant evangelism, block parties, backyard bible schools, and whatever else we could think of doing. We knew the potential of what God could do in this community that had forsaken God. Although we saw glimpses of God’s hand moving, we never saw the breakthrough that we had expected upon first starting the church. 

We were doing all the right things, making all the right contacts, building all the right relationships, and making a presence in the community. In those first two years, we had become well-known as a kind, loving, and giving church. People that were once very standoffish began to open their hearts and their doors. However, the breakthrough of deliverance had still not come. We had worked hard with little to show; and by the time the third year had come, we were all spiritually and physically exhausted. I knew something had to change, or we would not see a fourth year as a church.

One day the Spirit of the Lord spoke to my heart and allowed me to know what was missing; prayer! It wasn’t that we were not praying as a church; it was that we were not devoted to prayer as a church. We had our quick prayer time early on Sunday mornings before the visitors would come, and we opened and closed in prayer as was expected of every church. We prayed before any event we had and even called a few special times of prayer. But, it wasn’t our focus. Again, we were not devoted to prayer.  

God then placed upon my heart to set aside one night out of the week for an intercessory prayer meeting. A true prayer meeting where the actual focus was on prayer, and where the only order was to pray. We set it up where people could submit prayer requests before the prayer meeting so that when we come in, nothing needs to be said; we simply come in to focus on God and pray. We start off by spending some quiet time with the Lord, getting ourselves spiritually prepared; then we spontaneously start proclaiming praises and exulting the name and character of God. We then distribute the prayer requests and call them out to God. Our main prayer request is praying for spiritual awakening in our community. There are times while in our intercessory prayer meeting that it seems we will never stop praying! But that’s ok with me because we have seen the hand of God move through this prayer time in so many spectacular ways that we can’t help but to give God praise for all He has done. 

Today, as a church we are devoted to prayer. You may find people standing in the parking lot or gathered in a corner or huddled in a back room at any given time on a Sunday for the purpose of praying. During the week you will find our members texting needs, gathering to lift them up, and prayer walking or prayer driving in just about any given area. It is also our goal to individually pray for every home and every person in our community. As the pastor of a praying church, I don’t have to call on people to pray as the needs arise. They just start praying. Spontaneous spurts of prayer that are not calendared, scheduled, or even penciled in; just praying as the Lord leads and as the needs arise. I am very proud to say when I ask the church today to pray for a need I have, I have no doubt that they will. 

We are not the biggest church, nor the richest church, or even a church without issues. However, when I look out into the congregation on Sunday morning or throughout the week, I see faces with the joy of the Lord on them.  I see those who were former drug addicts, gang members, or alcoholics. We have former drug dealers, meth cookers, prostitutes, and people whom the devil had bound in many ways among us; yet, today, they are living testimonies of the power of God. Our church has become the testimony of a praying church. Someone once said of our church (not in a condemning way but a confirming way) that we are a church of misfits. We liked it so much that we were tempted to change the name of the church accordingly! However, we are misfits who have been transformed by His power. 

Again, we are far from a perfect church; and unfortunately, not everyone in the church participates in our intercessory prayer time. As a matter of fact, those who do participate are, unfortunately, in the minority. It is my heart that one day all would participate. However, we have seen God use these few in phenomenal ways. Can you imagine if everyone would step up to the plate and pray? Could you imagine if every church was a testimony of a praying church?

We are in a spiritual battle for the souls of mankind. In the last section I mentioned that in Mark chapter 9 the disciples were unable to cast the evil spirit out of a boy. The disciples latter came to Jesus and asked Him why they were unsuccessful. Jesus told them in Mark 9:29, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” In Matthew’s recollection of the event he said, “but this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21). We are in a fierce spiritual battle for the souls of men. We cannot afford to fight this battle the way we chose to fight for the first two years as a church. We must pray. We must pray and fast. It is the only way.

Day 25 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that Christians will know the importance of intercessory pray and walk in it.
• Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors with a heart for revival in our churches and a great awakening in our land.
• Pray that our churches will be houses of prayer.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 24

Mountain Moving Faith

            With our faith in Jesus we have the assurance that our prayers reach the throne of God. However, Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please Him”, and we have already looked at James 1:5 which says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” However, the next three verses of James chapter 1 say, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

            When we ask of God, we must ask in faith. I have had people come to me in times past asking me to pray for someone saying something along the line of “Will you please pray for my friend. There is no hope for him but please pray.” I have a busy schedule, so if there is no hope for him, then why should I waste my time praying for him? However, if I believe that nothing is impossible with God, my prayers will not be a waste of time.

            If then God will not be moved apart from faith, it leads us to the question, “How much faith do we need for God to move on our behalf?” Romans 12:3 says, “God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” So we all have at least a little faith. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 17:6 after they asked Him to increase their faith, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.” Another time Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

            So, exactly how big is this mountain moving faith that Jesus speaks of, faith of which nothing will be impossible? Look at the tip of a sharpened pencil; that’s approximately how large (or small) a mustard seed is. It is not very big, is it? Even in our faith we have a tendency to put our confidence in ourselves rather than God. We think that in order to move God we must build ourselves up with this mighty faith. Yet, Jesus speaks of the faith of a little bitty mustard seed. Again, our trust and confidence must be in God and not in ourselves. Let us never be guilty of putting faith in our faith.

            In Mark 9 a man brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples, and however they were not able to cast the demon out. When Jesus came, the father explained what was going on. The father then said to Jesus in verse 22, “If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus responded in the next verse, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” The simple fact that the father brought his son to Jesus was a demonstration of his faith in Jesus. He no doubt had heard of all the phenomenal things Jesus had been doing and saying; and if there was anyone who could help his hurting son, it would be Jesus. He then responded back to Jesus in one of the most astounding statements of faith we find in God’s Word. In verse 24 the father responded, “I do believe; help me in my unbelief”. Jesus then set the boy free and cast out the evil spirit.

            The more we spend time searching the Word of God, the more we discover what God is capable of. The more we discover what He is capable of the more we discover there is nothing impossible for Him. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” The things He was capable of doing when He walked upon this earth He is capable of doing today. Yet, today He chooses to use us as His vessels to carry out His purpose and His power. Biblical faith is simply believing in who God says He is and believing that God can do what He says He will do. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”

Day 24 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that Christians will know the importance of intercessory pray and walk in it.
• Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors with a heart for revival in our churches and a great awakening in our land.
• Pray that our churches will be houses of prayer.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 23

The Power of Prayer is in the Blood

            As we continue to talk about the total dependency upon God in prayer, we find a scripture that seems to contradict dependency on God and promote self-righteousness. James 5:16 says, “the effective prayers of a righteous man can accomplish much.” It gives the appearance of contradicting other scriptures such as Romans 3:10 which says, “there is none righteous, not even one.” It even seems to contradict Jesus words as Jesus Himself said in Mark 10:18, “No one is good except God alone.”    

            Upon closer consideration, we discover through this seemingly evident contradiction that although we have no righteousness of our own, through faith in Jesus Christ, God has given to us righteousness. (Romans 3:22). I Corinthians 1:30 tells us, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” By God’s design, when our faith is in Jesus, we are in Him; and if we are in Him, His righteousness is in us. We cannot stand in our own righteousness because we have none. However, through Christ we have a perfect righteousness. The bible says in Hebrews 4:16 that we can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Through the righteousness that we have in Christ, which is given by our faith in Him, we can come with confidence before the throne of God.

            The temple that Solomon built and dedicated to the Lord was not the same temple that was in existence when Jesus walked upon this earth; however, it had the same basic design. On the inside of the temple was the Holy Place where only the priests were allowed to come in and minister. In the back of the Holy Place was a veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. All the priests were allowed into the Holy Place every day to perform their ministerial duties; yet, only the High Priest one time out of the year on the Day of Atonement was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies.

            Inside the Holy of Holies was the very presence of God. Sin cannot enter into the presence of God, so the High Priest had to have all his sins confessed and repented of before entering the Holy of Holies. If he hadn’t, he would have been consumed by God’s presence. However, when Jesus died upon the cross, God’s work of redeeming mankind was over. The Word of God, in Mathew 27:51, tells us that the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God had made His presence available to all who would call on Him and put their faith in Him.

            Many times we get the impression that God hears and answers some people’s prayers more than He does others. However, Romans 2:11 says, “There is no partiality with God.” God doesn’t sit up in heaven saying, “I think I’m going to answer this person’s prayer today and not that person’s.” Remember that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” and that our righteousness is not found within ourselves but in Jesus. I Timothy 2:5 tells us, “for there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” With faith in Christ we pray through Christ, and Christ alone, directly to the throne of God. 

Day 23 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that Christians will know the importance of intercessory pray and walk in it.
• Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors with a heart for revival in our churches and a great awakening in our land.
• Pray that our churches will be houses of prayer.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 22

Humility in Prayer

            As we look again at II Chronicles 7:14, we discover that all of the elements of this verse are linked and flow together. In other words, you can’t have one element of this verse without the others. Take for example humility, which we discussed in the last chapter. God said in this verse, (II Chronicles 7:14), “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray.” We see that humility and prayer go hand in hand. You can’t have true prayer apart from humility; and apart from humility we will not pray-at least not a prayer that God will honor.

            We pray for many reasons. We should pray when we are happy or when we’re sad, when we’re hurting or when we’ve been healed, when we’re in need or when we have an abundance. We pray because we are in need. We are either in need of asking God for provisions or we are in need of giving God praise. Both of these are acts of humility. To admit to God that we stand in need of asking is an act of humility. We have come to the conclusion that we are not self-sufficient and are truly in need of that which we cannot provide for ourselves. To give God the praise for the provision is also an act of humility, realizing that He is the only one who can provide.  

            In our rebellion of independence and self-sufficiency, we neglect to turn to God in prayer. In like manner, our churches so often fail to lift up the needs of the church ministry or the ministers who serve-not to mention the greatest need which is the lost and un-churched of the community in which God has placed that church. Sure, we pray because that is what we are supposed to do. But, have our prayers become meaningless ritualistic routines based upon tradition, rather than that of totally dependent children calling out to their loving Father?  A father is one who is waiting in anticipation to hear the voice of His child and act accordingly? Have our prayers lost the compassion of Christ, being broken-hearted over the complacency of the church and the lost condition of the community, compelling us to call out to the Father?

            So often we jump right into our planning process with our organizational skills, ready to get the ball rolling in whatever plans we have made for ourselves. However, we fail to recognize that this is exactly what they are-plans we have made for ourselves. If we want the hand of God’s blessing on our lives, we must discover what God’s plans are. God has said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD.” How then do we discover what God’s plans are for our lives? James 1:5 says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” That is a promise straight out of the Word of God that we can stand on. 

            The most aggressive, well-planned, thoroughly organized, and fully staffed evangelistic programs will not reclaim the land for the Lord. Nor will the most educated minister, nor the most well-funded ministries, nor the most active and zealous congregation redeem the land for the Lord. Only the people of God who choose to tap into the power of God by humbly calling on God and whole-heartedly leaning on God would see the land redeemed.

            There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul was a powerful warrior in God’s army. God used him in phenomenal ways. However, Paul knew exactly where his power came from. He asked the church in Ephesians 6:19 to “pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” He understood that if he stood to preach the Gospel in his own power, he would fail miserably. He needed the people of God praying for him. If we will ever see this world won over with the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will happen only with the people of God standing up in God’s anointing that has come through the prayers of God’s people in total and complete dependence on the power of God.

Day 22 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that Christians will know the importance of intercessory pray and walk in it.
• Pray that God would raise up prayer warriors with a heart for revival in our churches and a great awakening in our land.
• Pray that our churches will be houses of prayer.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation. 

Day 21

Humility will Lift us Up

            Just as Satan is the perfect example of pride bringing us down, Jesus is the perfect example of humility lifting us up. Philippians 2 explains how Jesus humbled Himself to the obedience of His Father by becoming a sacrifice for us. Verse 8 says, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Because Jesus humbled Himself by giving of Himself as a perfect sacrifice, the very next phrase in verse nine says, “for this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” The reward for Jesus great act of humility was the highest of all exaltation.

            Although there will never be any other name exalted above the name of Jesus the Bible assures us that if we humble ourselves in obedience toward God He will exalt us. As we have already discussed, Peter says in I Peter 5:5, “God is opposed to the proud. The good news is that the rest of the verse say but gives grace to the humble.” With this statement in mind, Peter says in the next verse, “therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” The consistency of God is clear throughout his Word that He humbles the proud yet He exalts the humble. 

            Sometimes we feel as though we should be honored or that we deserve exaltation. We may feel as though we deserve special recognition because of who we are, what positions we hold, how gifted or how well-educated we may be. However, with the humility of Christ in mind Philippians 2:5 says, “Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:6 tells us that Jesus is God; yet, verse seven says, He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” If anyone deserves exultation it is the Son of God, the God who took upon flesh, Jesus Christ. Yet, He chose to humble Himself. To have the attitude of Christ is to have a humble attitude.

Paul stated in Philippians 3:4, “If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more.” He wasn’t bragging; he was right. He began to state his credentials in the next few verses as being a man who had everything according to the flesh going for him. When you examine his life, you realize that he was born into the right family, he was born into the best citizenship, he had the greatest education of the day, and he greatly excelled in his former occupation. He had every reason in this world to proudly stick his chest out and brag in the flesh.  Yet he stated in Philippians 3:7-10, “but whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul demonstrated in every area of his life as having the attitude of Christ. Although he was a well-accomplished man, he chose only to boast in the Lord. His life was by no means an easy life. I often look at Paul’s life and ask myself, could I have been strong enough to endure all he went through in his life for the Lord? One of the most misused verses in the entire Bible is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him, (Jesus), who strengthens me.” To hold that verse in its context, Paul is saying that regardless of what I face in life (good or bad), in Christ He will get me through it. If I humble myself before Him, He will lift me up.

Day 21 Prayer Guide

• Ask God to reveal any sin or mindset that would prevent Him from hearing your prayers.
• Repent of any such hindrance and ask for God’s forgiveness.
• Ask God to remove any doubts and keep you focused on Him.
• Seek the Holy Spirit to consume you during this time to lead you. Be obedient to Him.
• Spend some time praising God for the fact that He is able. Quote some scriptures or some of His characteristics to Him in praise.
• Pray that the people of God will repent of sins and mindsets that dishonor and hinder Him.
• Pray that God would reveal prideful attitudes of self-sufficiency and bring about repentance.
• Pray that the body of Christ will have the mind of Christ-humility.
• Pray that the church would never put their hope in man and their hope would be in God alone.
• Pray that the people of God will stand in faith knowing God can reclaim this land.
• Pray that our churches would be devoted to, and peruse the things that honor God.
• Pray that the people of God would see the need for revival and begin to seek God for it.
• Pray specifically for revival in your church. Pray for your pastor and church leaders.
• Pray for humility upon the people of God that leads to total obedience.
• Pray for humility upon the people of God that leads to total dependency on Him.
• Pray that the people of God will be broken hearted over the lost.
• Pray that the church will be a gospel centered church with a heart to evangelize the world while starting in their own back yard.
• Pray that the power of God would fall on the church moving them to prayer and sowing the gospel seed.
• Pray for a great awakening in your community. Name off streets and neighborhoods.
• Do not be judgmental in this, but pray that if there is any within the church who do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus that God would convict their heart and save them.
• Make a list of individuals who are not saved and begin petitioning God for their salvation.
• Pray for repentance of sin and a great awakening in our nation.