Love (42)

PTAP: Qatar Ramadan

Qatar, Arabian Peninsula

Day 14 - July 1, 2015

As Muslims are praying and fasting during Ramadan, we pray for them.

 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

 

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one- I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 

Christians in the Arabian Peninsula are asking us to pray John 13:34-35 & John 17:22-23 over Qatar.

 

Qatar is a relatively politically stable country. But what we do see is a struggle to maintain its cultural and especially its religious values amidst ongoing and aggressive modernization and development. Pray that the government's response, which can often be influenced heavily by Islamic fundamentalists, will be driven by the desire to embrace that which is honoring to God-respecting and protecting the rights of especially the majority expat workers through the observation of international labor laws and basic human rights.

 

We praise God that Qatar has granted property for the building of churches and places of worship. But the reality is that there is simply not enough space on the compounds to accommodate the large number of Christ followers. Pray that the government will grant permission for groups to meet outside of the compounds in places like restaurants, hotels, etc. Please pray for the various fellowships, that God would bring increasing unity among them. Pray that God would use the existing fellowships to meet the growing needs of the very poor migrant communities, especially in the labor camps, and that they would be bold to proclaim the Gospel to these people.

 

An ongoing struggle continues to be unity and community among the Christian workers in Qatar. Several years ago, the government cracked down on Christian workers, resulting in a few getting deported and causing the community to fragment and become fearful. Most recently, one of our workers was temporarily detained. Since then, this particular couple has been under very obvious scrutiny resulting in many of the other workers cutting off ties with them. As you can understand, they are feeling very lonely and discouraged. Pray for God to break the spirit of fear and that He may rebuild the trust and unity of the workers so that they can begin to work in concerted effort again. Pray that the workers would even be willing to come together to pray and fellowship together. Pray that God would grant the different fellowships a united heart to impact Qatar with the Gospel. Source: Christian leader in the Arabian Peninsula

 

Qatar makes the news because of World Cup Football, their airlines, and their financial support of Daesh (ISIS), al-Qaeda and other violent Islamic groups. After the killing of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, Egypt criticized Qatar for their funding of such an organization. Pray that Qatar will stop any and all funding of radical Islamic groups. Pray that the grip that this form of Islamic terrorism has on them will be removed and be replaced with freedom in Christ. Pray for the very few Qatari believers in Jesus to grow in their faith and their love of God (The Bible, Ephesians 3:14-21). Source: The 10/40 Window Prayer Points for Every Nation (April 2015)

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STRETCHING MY LOVE IN PRAYER

I took a break from my blog during the month of August, 2015. And I told you I would see you in September. Well, it is September. And I am back as I said I would be. I pray for God to speak to each of you in these entries.

I am so blessed to have people whom I love and love me on daily prayer lists. I am not sure anything cultivates my love for them like prayer. I also have the names of people on prayer lists who are hard to love or even like. Exercising kindness toward them is necessary for feeling and growing my love for these people. But these actions must begin with and be carried out in prayer.

FORGIVENESS AND PRAYER

I have people on prayer lists who have wronged me, or worse, harmed people I love. God clearly impressed me to put these people on prayer lists. But I do often find it difficult to pray for them. Praying in general helps me understand and apply the truth of God's grace to them. God's forgiving love begins to rub off on me. Especially as I put forgiveness into words by asking God, even against my will, to forgive them.

PATIENCE AND PRAYER

Interestingly enough I often need more patience with people who are closer to me than those I have trouble loving. They are sinners. And I am a sinner. We sin against each other. I thank God that prayer brings me into contact with God's patience with me. Despite what the devil accuses I can go to God in confession immediately after sinning. I am still His child even after I sin. Praying in that grace opens my heart to patience with others even when we rub each other the wrong way.

HUMILITY AND PRAYER

I am not sure anything is as necessary to love as humility. And nothing cultivates humility like access to God by grace in prayer. I do not deserve the privilege of prayer. The Son of God had to die on a cross to purchase it for me. I did not just need a little more righteousness to see the kingdom of God. I had to be born again. And I am no more deserving of God's grace than that person I find it difficult to love.

Today I plan to pray specifically for God to show His great love to everyone one my prayer lists and people I come in contact with all day.

Next week I plan to begin a series of blog entries on the Foundations of Prayer



watchinginprayer.blogspot.com

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PRAYING FOR OUR ENEMIES

How are you loving your enemies? It should not surprise us that Jesus Himself applied this impossible command with a prescription for prayer.

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.[i]

I recently read something on the web from a man who works as a Christian apologist that severely attacked Bill Nye (the science guy). I wrote a comment about loving and praying for Bill Nye. The man wrote back somewhat offended thinking I was saying he should abandon his ministry. I admit that that I may not have been as kind or loving as I should have been to the apologist with my public comment. But it is crucial for believers to base our polemics in the love of Christ.

This requires prayer because it is impossible in human strength. I need to regularly pray for God's power to love my enemies. I need to ask God to help me love members of ISIS and radical Islam.  And this needs to be specific. I need God to help me pray by name for my Muslim Medical Doctor and the News anchor who will twist the News to get people to support same sex marriage. And yes, the television personality who would lead my grandchildren into sin and unbelief.

And I don't know about you, but I have trouble figuring out how to do and even think about this. I need God to show me how to love, my family and friends. How much more do need Him to show me how to love my enemies?

I just saw a great interview on this on http://www.radical.net/blog/ . I want to recommend this blog to all serious Christians. And certainly more pressing to the point of this subject I want to recommend this particular video whose link I found on it. http://www.rosariabutterfield.com/ This video and others on this site are particularly on loving my homosexual neighbors, but they establish the principle of prayerfully loving real people.

I discipline myself to pray for many people that stretch my prayer life. I have wondered if I should make a special prayer list for my enemies and for enemies of Christianity in general. At this point I have decided not to pray for them in a specific list. First, I have enough trouble praying for them when they are mixed with people who are not as difficult to pray for. And I need to see prayer needs as a mixture of growth and joy. And the greatest of these elements often flow out of the love for the same people. Father put Your love in me for enemies all around us.

 

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

http://www.radical.net/blog/

http://www.rosariabutterfield.com/

 

 



[i] Matthew 5:44,45

 

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CLICK HERE FOR DAYS 1-23

DAY TWENTY FOUR:

VERSES:
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."....2 Timothy 1:7

PRAYER:
(Against Anxiety, Day 6)
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Father God we are so grateful that You have removed all obstacles that stand in the way of our reconciling with You, to remove the guilt and stand from the Fall of Adam, in the Garden. We are so grateful that through the Precious Shed Blood of the Ancient of Days, the ONLY perfect and acceptable Sacrifice for sin, that we are able to even stand in Your Holy Presence and not be cast aside into outer darkness, where doth lieth weeping and gnashing of teeth. All You ask in return for this Mighty Grace and Favor is our obedience to You, oh Most High, and surrender to All Your have in store for us. And Lord what You have and plan for those who love You, is so much better if the rest of us would just stop, listen and learn!

Who is like You, and who can out-give, out-love, out-grace You, oh Sovereign One? No one! You take away our fear and anxious moments by the strong whisper of Your Voice, as You direct us back to Your Written Word where You said "fear not" so many times, it is the most powerful exhortation in the Scripture! In our troubles and weakness, we overlook these things and subjugate our faith into second place, choosing to be like the lost of humanity and operate in the paradigm of fear. While, oh God, this may a natural human reaction, You did not call us or expect Your elect to do this sort of thing, but to trust and believe.
 
For that reason, You emphasized again that You did NOT give us a spirit, bent, inclination, heart and the ability to focus just so we would cower in spiritual and natural fear, when You - the Lord of Heaven's Armies Who can destroy every evil thing with one Word, one Command, is for us! We know this, we know You have us covered by the Blood and by the Angels, so help us to have the triple portion of Faith necessary to operate in this way every single moment of every day of every week and forever more, until You call us home.
You called us 'sons of God' and gave us Power (John 1:12) and thus, we already are embedded with Your dynamic, fluid Kingdom authority to beat back the enemy with the same word - Prayer! We must take authority over our situation, in Jesus' Name and then that authority will be thus be our connection to the Source, so You can then execute the result You desired in any particular situation. And we do this in Love oh God, the same love, agape, unconditional and forgiving love You showed us as we wallowed in our sin before Christ rescued us. None of this is possible - operating out of AND under the Authority of Christ in love, power and boldness if we are not under control, in sound mind and full conscious, aware, obedient and knowledgeable to the Who You are and what You are accomplishing in our lives.  Father God, give us the soundness and clarity of mind, that we, Your people, keep our collective heads on in cool calmness, being vigilant and alert so that when everything starts falling down around us, we can be under the unction of the Holy Spirit, in full control to lead others to You Way - the Perfect Way. We ask this through the Mighty Undefeated Name of our Lord and Commander of the Universe - Jesus, our Soon Coming King. AMEN
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DAYS 1-28 FOUND HERE

DAY TWENTY NINE:
VERSES:
" Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren"....Deuteronomy 4:9
PRAYER
Father%2Breading%2Bto%2Bhis%2Bchildren.jpg
Oh most merciful and loving God in Heaven, we worship You in spirit and in truth and in gratitude for Who You are and What You have done. We have seen Your Hands, the Work of Your Hands, the Wonder of Your Love and the Grace from Your Heart, as the winter of our discontent, the wickedness of our hearts and the wandering lost nature of our souls were rescued from sin, death and hell. You did that, oh Lord. We are living proof, I am living proof, of the unseen Hand of God, Whose Arm is never too short, to reach into the depths of depravity and despair and pull us out by the root to replant us in the Garden of Grace.
 
We know, in every fiber of our very being, what You have done in protecting us from danger, keeping us from falling and from the wolves and sure death out there as the angels You sent, kept us from "dashing our foot up against a stone". Father, I remember those days. I remember the fields of dirt, thirst and hopelessness You took me out of....just like You took the little shepherd boy away from the flocks who slew great giants and became king David of Israel. As Your Faithful servant, meek yet strong, Moses urged all believers for all times, I purpose to "take heed" and wear Your salvation of my soul on my sleeve that others may gain. I take particular, punctilious, painstaking, rigorous, care in, as Your Apostle Paul says "working out" that salvation....not to be "saved again" but to build on what You have given me, in Grace through Faith, to a daily maturing in that Faith....in the spirit of boldness, power, love and a sound mind!
 
It is only by staying, abiding and walking close to You, Abba Father, that I can be, that we can be, of any use to the Kingdom of Your Great Son, King Jesus the Lord of Heaven's Armies and the real Commander in Chief of the world! It is only by constant prayer, intercession, and letting the Word of God, the Bible richly dwelling in us day after day, month after month, year after year,  that Your servants can be effective in leaving a legacy of Lordship not just to our children from their birth to their maturity, but from their teenage years until they themselves become parents and then, if we are blessed with clarity of mind and good old age, we too can share what God, through Christ has done for us.  Lord, give us this day, not just our daily bread, but the daily power, strength, boldness, discernment and wisdom to execute every statute You laid out in this Scripture from this verse above, so that we will be able to do just as You commanded,  to not just leave but LIVE a legacy of love, and the Knowledge of the Goodness and Wonderful Works of our Lord, to those whom we will one day temporarily leave behind. We ask this in the Precious Name above all names - Jesus, our Lord, amen.
Holy Bible, Book Divine
Precious Treasure, Thou art mine!!!
Amen
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DAYS 1-11 ARE HERE

DAY TWELVE:
VERSE:
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him....(1 John 2:27)
PRAYER:
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Most gracious, kind merciful Heavenly Father, Who gives all things to all all people, we thank You for the special"chrisma" (gift of anointing) You have given Your anointed and those upon whom You have placed a special calling to reach, teach, preach and outreach to a lost and dying world. These are those who are truly called by Your Name, those who have been reborn and brought into the Kingdom of Your Son. 
Because You have given us Your Spirit, we cannot be deceived by the god of this world and even if distracted, we shall soon learn the errors of our ways. There are some things which bible colleges, Sunday School teachers and preachers cannot teach and that is how to listen to You, how to respond to You and how to obey the promptings and directions which Your Holy Spirit, Who is our true friend in the Faith imparts and inputes into us. He infuses more oil and blessing daily from our first calling on our lives and the Truth can only be found in Him.
 
So most compassionate, gracious and long-suffering God, we lift up on this special day of recognition of Your anointing on the lives of your true followers, those who take this Word across the globe. We lift up Your missionaries who abide and rest more on You for their moment by moment nourishment, guidance, protection and direction than the rest of us. Lord, not only are Your true missionaries, i.e., those whom You have actually sent out to dangerous and seemingly unproductive lands, not only are they solely dependent on You, but sometimes they lose courage in the face of evil persecution as seen with Your servants the Burnhams when Martin was killed by islamic guerrillas in the Philippines in 2002. Lord as the flesh told Gracia, his dear wife to see revenge, Your Grace and Your Love encouraged her to show love, mercy and compassion. Because of that, she "learned to fly again" and won many more souls to Christ, a testimony for us not to give up and even in the pain and suffering in her own family, to see the bigger picture of the Love You have, which put Christ on the Cross.

Father, we also pray for those of us who are missionaries in our own "Jerusalem"- namely outside our own front doors. May we never tire of the hard work that it is to reach on and teach and care for the lost when their hearts are so hard and they literally hate You, while professing to love and know You at Christmas and Easter time. Father, we pray for those of us that we persevere, never give in, never give up and in fact live up to the standards and the call with which You have have called. We do this because Your Call is True, Your Word is True, Your Love is True and Your Promises are Yes and Amen....and we believe it, because of Jesus Christ, our soon coming Lord and Savior, in His Name, amen.
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PTAP: ISIS is impacting the Region

PTAP would ask that we would pray for those suffering under the hand of ISIS and also pray for ISIS to be convicted of sin. Our continued battle is not with flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces that cause people to act with such evil. Attached is a 30 day prayer guide you can download and pray through this situation. ISIS is effecting Syria and Iraq, but also the whole world. So please pray and seek His face during these times.

 

https://files.ctctcdn.com/198b864e001/6acfa5e8-226c-4d65-ba54-a52a6a52a689.pdf

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WHY PRAY? Part 2 - We Trust!

CLICK TO READ PART 1 HERE

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him(James 5:14-15)

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The Lord promised that "in this world you will have tribulation (or trouble), but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33b). How does someone do that when the enemies of God are systematically destroying His people....when many are losing hope....when the numbers of "nones" (those who believe in nothing) grow exponentially....etc. etc..

These are the Biblical end times which are in view, primarily, to those who are saved and called by Christ into the Kingdom. We are seeing a plethora of incurable diseases, deadly viruses and inexplicable things all around us. Cancer is on the rise due to the many different things - lifestyle, quality of food and environment etc. In fact, if you act even the dearest Christian, there seems to be a sense of resignation and defeat.

This is both understandable and wrong at the same time. We see an exhortation from James here which is hardly called upon, in times of need, even by those who call themselves strong believers.....and that includes pastors. On average, you hear pastoral prayers about "Lord heal so and so, touch brother X, remember sister Y....etc.." But is there the strong biblical prayer system for healing, whether Body, Soul or Mind, which lines up with James 5:14, 15? Not really!  This sort of healing and restoration requires Faith and Trust in the Promise AND persistence in prayer.

Too many modern seminaries, and thus, the pastors they put out, have removed the spirit of this Scripture which says that such faith for healing, anointing with oil and restoration "is only for Bible times" and not now! I have heard that so many times, I don't even listen to it anymore. Because the Living Word who abides in the Christian testifies that the entire Word of God - all 66 books - are for now and for you and I. Therefore, even if the elders don't pray for the church and the sick as they should - YOU DO IT!

To drive home that point, the Lord gave us the account of the man of God - Elijah - who was sent to a place of famine and a poor woman in Zarephath. 
Read the full account here from the flowing narrative of God's Word Translation:  8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath (which belongs to Sidon), and stay there. I’ve commanded a widow there to feed you.”

10 He got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the town’s entrance, a widow was gathering wood. He called to her, “Please bring me a drink of water.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE READ OF THIS MESSAGE

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The God with a Heart

             “He who, from zone to zone, / Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, / In the long way that I must tread alone, / Will lead my steps aright.”

             (William Cullen Bryant, “To a Waterfowl”, 1818)

 

             Miserable in your circumstances? Feeling nobody understands your heartache or even gives you a passing thought? Skeptics scoffing at your faith stance?

 

             A baby boy’s whimpers awakened sympathy in the heart of an Egyptian princess, so you can be sure your helpless cries touch the loving heart of God. He tracks every one of your woes and bottles all your tears.

 

             The Wonderful Counselor is ready to hear your dilemmas. The Mighty God is able to handle your desperate situation. The Everlasting Father is unfailing in compassion. The Prince of Peace sets your heart at rest in the eye of life’s storms.

               

             The God who moved with Abraham until he found the Promised Land, who laughed with Isaac until he learned to trust, and who wrestled with Jacob until he won a blessing will not break His sacred promise to care for you.

 

             Epicurus said “if there are gods, they do not care for you.” False gods of the heart are incapable of caring, but the God who is love cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

 

             Aristotle said “it would be eccentric to claim that Zeus loved a human being.” He was right about Zeus, but the God with a heart loves all of us (Psalm 136).

 

             So do not wring your hands in worry—fold them in prayer. Trust God to sustain you in sad and dark times, and keep looking for exit signs from burdensome situations. Dramatic rescue will happen at just the right moment. Heaven’s clock is invisible, but it keeps perfect time. Exodus is certain as sunrise.

 

             “The Israelites groaned beneath their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their pleas for deliverance rose up to God. God heard their cries and remembered his covenant promise. He looked down on the Israelites and felt deep concern for their welfare.” (Exodus 2:23b-25 NLT)

Johnny R. Almond

Christian preacher and writer

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

This devotion based on Day 38 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

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Friend in the Highest Place

There is Someone who loves you more than any friend you have on Facebook.

“Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.”  (Alfred, Lord Tennyson]

 

Born from above, we have a Friend in eternity—Elyon, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, supreme over all.

 

He defeats our spiritual enemies (Genesis 14:20), teaches us timeless truth (Numbers 24:16), inspires a song in the night (Psalm 7:17), fills our heart with joy (Psalm 46:4), rules as Sovereign over all nations (Psalm 47:2), challenges us to keep our vows of devotion (Psalm 50:14), redeems us from sin (Psalm 78:35), hears our prayers (Psalm 86:6), provides rest under the shadow of His wings (Psalm 91:1), and is worthy of worship above all false gods (Psalm 97:9).

 

From His exalted throne, He scans earth for people who yearn to be released from bondage to the Pharaoh of hell and enjoy authentic friendship with their Creator.

 

From His elevated perspective, He sees through the thicket of our fight to survive. When we look up through dense bewilderment, we can detect a golden ray of hopeful light. Bending our knee in devotion to God, we sing His praises at all times and places.

 

Our Greatest Friend promises that ultimately He will make everything new—

replacing old earth’s egomania with new earth’s kindness,

transforming old chaos into new calm,

superimposing the New Jerusalem on old crime-ridden cities,

making old heartaches obsolete by new songs,

killing old death by new life,

wiping away old tears with new joy,

erasing old pain with new bodies.

 

From our limited point of view, all this may seem unlikely to come true. But God is trustworthy and will surely keep His promises. As a friend of mine once told me, if the Bible is not true, nothing is true.   

 

In the meantime, we should train our heart to listen prayerfully to gentle whispers from eternity, not merely our five dictatorial physical senses. If we use the sixth sense God has given us, we can imagine invisible realities. Now we believe—then we will see.

 

Bowing our head, we worship our Friend in the highest place.

 

 “When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.”  (Exodus 4:30-31 NIV)

 

Johnny R. Almond

Christian preacher and writer

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

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PRAYER THAT PRODUCES LOVE

Prayer is certainly bound together with love. Prayer is the expression of love. And love ought to be the motivation for our prayers. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus commanded His followers, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” You do not love your enemies, if you are not praying for them. And prayer is a powerful means of developing love for those who are difficult to love. I believe it is an expression of love to pray for someone you bitterly dislike, simply out of obedience. Because God has told you to someone, you struggle to ask Him to work in her life. But as you carry that out day by day, the love of Christ for that person will grow in your heart and mind.

 

I would like you to try this exercise. Make a list of people you have trouble loving. Maybe it is someone who wronged you or someone you care about. Maybe it is a person whose attitudes or behavior you do not approve. The very thought of them irritates you. Most of us can come up with a list of 4 or 5 such people off the top of our heads. You may ask God to bring such people to your mind. When you have the list, take time to pray for these people every day for a week. You may be tempted to pray for God to bring them into judgment, but you don't want to pray that kind of prayer for someone Jesus died to redeem. I think it is acceptable to begin by praying for God to change them or bring them to repentance.  From there you can ask God to show you how to pray for them. At the end of the week take an assessment of your attitude toward them. It will have changed. You will be drawn nearer to the heart of God.

 

 

http://daveswatch.com/

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Love Always

“Cast all your cares on God; that anchor holds.” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

 

The God who is the one and only God does not wish to remain anonymous.

 

The God who cared for His people in the Old Testament gives His saints today peace in pandemonium, calm in chaos, and courage in valleys.

 

The God who liberated His people from slavery sent Jesus to unshackle us from sin’s cruel bondage. 

 

The God who observed the misery of His chosen people in Egypt has His eyes constantly on us. He is perfectly aware of our headaches and heartaches, and He deeply cares about our well-being.

 

The God who led the Israelites through a dangerous wilderness by daily cloud and nightly blaze conducts us through life’s labyrinth by a built-in Guidance System.

 

The God who changed His people’s diet from unsatisfying fare to Promised Land milk and honey satisfies our appetite for excellent thoughts by His timeless wisdom.

 

The God who will always be who He has always been has always loved us and always will. So we do not address our prayers “to the God it may concern.”

 

The God who is love is our Firm Anchor on life’s high seas. He is all we ever really need in life.  

 

“I Am the One Who Always Is.” (Exodus 3:14 NLT)

 

Johnny R. Almond

Christian preacher and writer

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

This devotion based on Day 39 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

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Responding to Christ's love

Our life is Christians is a response to the love of our Savior. Read "Responding to Christ's love" on my blog at www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com

Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized
Book available through local bookseller or preferred on-line retailer.
[This devotion was based on/adapted from Day 24 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

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THE POWER OF LOVE

Prayer is a powerful expression of divine love in our lives. Most of us misunderstand this because our society has redefined love as romance. But love is not simply romantic feelings but expressing selflessness. When scripture tells a man to love his wife it is not necessarily telling him to be romantic. It may be when that is what his wife wants and needs. But romance usually focuses on how we feel about a person or how someone makes us feel. That is anti-love.

We pray because we love people and focus on their needs. We even pray because we want to love people that we don’t or can’t feel good about. Prayer is fundamental to stretching our love. I put the name of a person on a prayer list because he has wronged me or I know he will harm me or because he rubs me the wrong way. I am making a commitment to pray for that person however I feel. I have been angry and frustrated with someone and set aside a full hour to pray for her. Nothing develops such an attitude of love for a person like prayer.

In prayer we connect with the love of God, with His great love for us and with the power of His love through us.

http://daveswatch.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

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Draw Near To God, and He Will Draw Near To You

Let’s start thinking about this simple, but profound promise (Draw Near To God, and He Will Draw Near To You) by going back to square one, and moving forward with ideas on actual ways to do this.

In either your experience or your understanding, who approached whom first, you or God? You may have searched or studied about God, feeling that you were the driving force. However, most of us who now know God by faith and experience have come to understand from His Word that He is the One who took the initiative in our relationship, and even our own efforts were guided by Him. This does not in any way devalue the FREE WILL He provided us, based on His love for us. God will never force Himself on us, and the love He shows us in giving us free will has a lot to do with Him wanting us to CHOOSE to know Him and love Him back. He could have made us ROBOTS, but that would have killed the essence of us choosing to respond to His love and thereby experience a growing, vital, dynamic love relationship with Him.

So, what is the bedrock way to see and experience His love initiative toward us? Jesus’ whole brief life on earth focused on His mission as Emmanuel (God with us) to show us God in flesh-action on His way to offer us salvation via the cross and the empty tomb. All forces of human and evil spiritual authorities tried to kill or sidetrack Jesus from His mission to become our savior by paying full price for all our sins. Perhaps the strongest potential deterrent from His mission was the foreknowledge of the pending physical, spiritual, and emotional pain He faced in his mock trials and crucifixion. For example He sweat drops of blood as he wrestled to seek any alternative to making full payment by taking ALL our sins upon Himself on the cross. Since none was to be found if we were to be given the invitation of heaven in God’s holy presence, dressed in Christ’s robe of righteousness, the third time Jesus agonized alone in prayer, he yielded, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” Psalm 22 predicted His cries from the cross, as well as the answer to His grueling WHY question. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?...3 Yet you are holy”

So God the Father, Son, and Spirit planned before our known world began, to provide man a way that would satisfy God’s holiness, to live in their holy presence forever. They took love initiative way beyond our comprehension to invite us to love and worship them back. Only those who are impacted by the magnitude of such love, and respond with a decisive RSVP act of their will and commitment, will experience that extended transforming love, and be allowed into the holy presence of God forever.

So for those only, who have RSVP’d for heaven, God now offers us the opportunity to respond to His love initiative, in kind, with our initiative to draw near to Him. It is no surprise that some of these “methods” include: prayer, worship, adoration, sharing His worthiness and glory with others, and cooperating daily with the Holy Spirit to allow Him to produce and refine His fruit in us (which includes love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and Spirit-control). As we see God at work in this world and join Him as partners (ambassadors), we experience His enablement, filling, equipping, and transforming power at work in, through, and around us. As we mostly listen and worship in prayer we see Him High and lifted up. In King David’s impactful Psalm 51 prayer of brokenness and repentance, he prays, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. There are many such ways to respond to God’s love and experience Him drawing near to us, but the first step is to accept His love initiative to us on the cross where the dearest and best died for us.

For more, please see: How to Draw Nearer to God; John Hoelzel Sr; 2011; Amazon.com

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Love that lasts

"In this modern world we live in, love is ended before it's begun."  Commitment--an old-fashioned word--is still the key to lasting marriages and enduring relationships. God's love is the ultimate example.

“Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers, Whose loves in higher love endure;

What souls possess themselves so pure, or is there blessedness like theirs?”

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

Waterfalls of time cannot extinguish love’s eternal flame.

Rivers of catastrophe cannot drown its commitment.

Love is stronger than death—love endures forever.

 

Love hangs on through hours, days, weeks, and years.

Love perseveres through glacial passage of time.

Love  is infinitely  patient—it never gives up.

 

In life’s waiting room, we calmly anticipate God’s tomorrow.

The trial of our faith will determine if we truly believe God.

God is being patient with us—let’s be patient with Him.

 

At Calvary, He crossed His heart to express His undying love.

Our Savior Jesus paid for His bride with His lifeblood.

We can prove our love for Him by obedience.

 

God has planned a marriage feast to honor the Bridegroom.

Engagement gives time to get ready for the wedding.

Before we know it, the great day will arrive.

 

Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel.

But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

Genesis 29:20 NLT

 

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

Book available through local bookseller or preferred on-line retailer.

Author’s blog www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com

[This devotion was based on/adapted from Day 20 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

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God's Masterpiece

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue
 you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psalm 139:1-6).
 
Our identity as humans is under fire.  If you look into the secret lives of people in all walks of life, you find individuals who try to look big on the outside but who are crying deeply for love on the inside.  A worldwide problem is not being able to love ourselves the way that God loves us. Most of us do not do this well. 

I remember a few years ago when we were having awakening services several nights a week here at the International House of Prayer. One of the main problems that kept coming up in many of the services, especially among young people, was self-hatred. The fact that is apparent worldwide is that mankind has a hard time loving themselves in the right way. And this is prevalent among Christians.
 
But if we want the freedom to pray wholeheartedly without limitations, we must have a right view of ourselves. We are God's masterpiece.
 
We live in a world that tells us that we are ok only if we are more beautiful, have a more important job, and are skinnier or more athletic. Then we will be acceptable and life will go our way. The problem is that most of us do not measure up to the ideals we see in the media, and we are listening to the wrong voices all the time. We are constantly bombarded with the wrong messages in school, on TV, and on the internet. Self-hatred comes with seeing our worth and success according to the flesh and comparing ourselves with the values of this evil world.
 
But what does the Bible say to all of us who are seeking God wholeheartedly and truly want to see ourselves through His eyes?

  • “As the Father loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love (John 15:9).
  • “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us… (1 John 3:1).

How many really believe this? If we did, we would walk in a new nobility with our head held high, not because of pride, but because of the remarkable dignity we have as children of God. We are made in His image. We are to see ourselves in light of the truths of Jesus’ work on the cross. We are not to minimize how much God enjoys loving us because He does, and He thoroughly enjoys being loved by us. He loves it when we spend time with Him basking in His love.
 
“Our greatest emotional need is to have the assurance that we are enjoyed by God even in our weakness. Every person was created with a longing to be delighted in and enjoyed by God. A prevailing stronghold in many today is related to rejection and shame. This stronghold hinders our ability to receive God’s love and to enjoy Him, His Word, and the work of the kingdom.” Mike Bickle
 
Most people do not have a clear sense of their personal identity even when they do a great work in the world’s eyes. An example is the famous German philosopher Schleiermacher who did much to shape the progress of modern thought. As an old man he was sitting on a city park bench. A policeman thought he was a bum and came and shook him. He asked this famous philosopher, “Who are you?” Schleiermacher sadly replied, “I wish I knew.” 
 
This sad reality is multiplied by the rich and famous all over the world. Outwardly impressive but inwardly longing to know who they really are. Working feverishly to keep up their image in the public eye, they are looking in every direction for love and personal identity but are not finding it.
 
Why are there so many suicides among young people today? Why so much depression and discouragement? Because our enemy wants to destroy our identity in Christ, and he will do everything he can to tell us how far we have fallen short. He will try his hardest to lead people into such depression so that they will even take their own life because of their agonizing pain. Let’s look at the gravity of this huge problem:
 
Depression is the #1 disability in the world and the strongest risk factor in suicide. Suicide takes the lives of nearly 30,000 Americans every year and is the 10th leading cause of death. Between 1952 and 1995, suicide in young people nearly tripled and is the third leading cause of death. An average of one person dies by suicide every 16.2 minutes. It is estimated that there were 811,000 suicide attempts in just one year. See 
http://www.save.org for more information.

Crowned with Glory and Honor
 
“You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands” (Hebrews 2:7).
 
Every one of us is important. Every one of us has a God-ordained destiny that only we can complete. No other person in all of history can do and be what God has designed you for. Yes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. When we know this love deep in our heart that God has towards us, we are empowered to love others deeply and to pray extravagantly. God delights in the person that He made us to be. Don’t despise your appearance, status, gifting, or ministry assignment. It is so important to God. In fact, there is nobody who can do what God has specially designed you for. Remember Ephesians 2:10 every time you get down about yourself – you are His unique and special workmanship. You are God's masterpiece.
 
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
 
God sees us differently than we do. He does not agree with man’s fleshly view of what is weak, ugly, and worthless. He actually chooses the weak things of the world to put to shame what appears strong according to the flesh (1 Corinthians 1:27). We must agree with what He values. We must look at things from an eternal viewpoint, not from the world system.
 
We must focus on who we are in Christ, not according to the flesh and how we look, make money, etc. We must seek who we are according to the Spirit (God’s eyes) so that we can love ourselves. Self-hatred comes from seeing ourselves according to the flesh and then comparing ourselves with others who are big in the world’s eyes (2 Corinthians 10:12). We are new creatures in Christ!
 
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 
(2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
 
We are to acknowledge and hate our sinful desires, but we are to love who we are in Christ. We have no confidence in our flesh (Philippians 3:3-8). We died to our old life, failure and identity (Colossians 3:2-4). God loves our every act of obedience in small and big ways. He sees us as successful. We have a glorious inheritance (Eph. 1:17-18).
 
We can love with God’s love when we know our true identity. Embrace His love today by loving yourself the way He does. He carefully and lovingly knit you together in your mother’s womb with His own hands! Every single part of you inside and outside was fashioned with His master hand. You are His masterpiece. Don’t look at yourself through man’s eyes; look at yourself through God’s. You are His beloved child. You are crowned with glory and honor.

Now one of the most famous phrases spoken here at the International House of Prayer is this: "I am God's favorite!"  And this is so true because we are all God's favorites! We are each uniquely designed by His master hand.

You must watch this video called The Father's Heart and let it touch your heart. Put on some quiet worship music, sit or kneel in God's presence, meditate on Psalm 139, and listen to what God says to you. Write it down, and thank God that you are His masterpiece. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. 
 
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
 when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body;
 all the days ordained for me were written in your book
 before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand…” (Psalm 139:13-18).
 
 Intercessors Arise News


Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org

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Worship

9651008281?profile=originalIn the 15th century, Martin Luther wanted to renew genuine worship. For centuries monks had kept the scriptures and sacred music locked away in monasteries. But after printing press put the Gutenberg bible back in the hands of the common man in the 1450’s, Luther worked to put worship back in the hands, and minds of the common man to fuel the revival that swept Europe. History says that Luther wrote new hymns to bar tunes and folk songs. His goal to implant the seed of God’s word deep in the hearts and minds of his listeners centered around these common melodies. He hoped that when men  went about their daily routines, the Holy Spirit could bring to mind eternal truth. Charles Wesley continued this approach when we wrote over 6000 songs for Christian worship on the 18th century.

Between Luther and Wesley’s day, the Protestant Reformation gave birth to another explosive renewal in the arts. Symphonic composers like Handel, Beethoven and Mozart rose to the forefront of their craft, and many of their works were dedicated to the King of Kings, and Lords of Lords. Today, concert hall audiences still stand and sing along at the climax of Handel’s Messiah. Imagine pipe organs and orchestras performing the Halleluiah Chorus on stately cathedrals and vaulted concert halls throughout the last 3 centuries. Classic music in the 21st century, Handel and Beethoven were contemporary musicians of the 16th and 17th century.

In the 20th century, the Jesus movement and the charismatic outpouring that flowed across the American church gave birth to another revolution in contemporary music. Even though the traditional church was hesitant to change, today contemporary Christian music is on its way to becoming traditions for the 21st century church.

Worship is never about the outer form, or style of music. Worship is about the heart of the worshipper. Whenever our hearts are more concerned about what is on the outside than the whole hearted devotion on the inside, we are in need of another revival. Real worship must be genuine, contemporary worshiper, heartfelt, and surrendered.

Looking into the scriptures, another idea is essential to genuine worship. Abraham stood at the foot of Mt Moriah. He’d waited for 25 years for his son Isaac, raised him for another 13, and now he’d traveled three days to a mountain’s name whose name means “God will see” to offer him, at God’s request, as a sacrafice.

Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. (Gen 22.5 KJV)

Abraham’s worship included:

  • He was obeying God, without hesitation.
  • He was going with the full intent of sacrificing his son.
  • His faith and relationship with God was so deep, that he knew that Isaac was the son that God had promised.
  • He intended to kill his son, not to please god, but to obey him
  • He knew that he would also return with his son, because God is faithful to keep his promises.

Genuine worship, praise and prayer that changes our hearts and pleases God includes personal cost. Abraham learned the lesson by obeying God, and trusting him with the results. David also said that he wouldn’t offer a sacrifice that didn’t’ come at personal cost to himself, and he learned these hard lessons the same way – by what he did.

And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, "To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Sam 24.20-24 KJV)

Genuine praise, worship and prayer aren’t about how we feel. These essential pieces of a Christ-centered life aren’t about the environment around us, or the music we listen to. Genuine worship flows from a heart that’s surrendered to God, loves Him, gives up your rights voluntarily, obeys Him and follows wherever He leads.

 

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My Sermon Outline for 9/11

Point 1: Love conquers fear (1 John 4:18). Terrorism inspires fear. Fear causes response of flight (“Islam is peaceful”) or fight (“Muslims are evil”). Without love, we lack objectivity, become reactive victims, and follow popular paths of least resistance into either denial or anxiety. With love we seize productive initiative.

Point 2: Prayer for enemies inspires proper attitudes (Matthew 5:44). When Jesus told his followers to love enemies and pray for persecutors, he compared that response to God’s response to us. God sends rain on both the righteous and the wicked. God is never a victim and always has the initiative. Human behavior does not manipulate God.

Point 3: Stephen prayed for Saul (Acts 7:60 & 8:1). Triumphing over the perpetrators of this 9-11 evil takes radical initiative.

Application: Consider “adopting” a terrorist for prayer from ATFP.org .
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The God of Daniel

Luke 21:15:

“For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist”.

Daniel 1:8-9:

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs”.

There was a supernatural ability that allowed Daniel to have knowledge, skill and wisdom. Knowledge, skill and wisdom are the things that you need, to help you get to the top. The kind that your friends and enemies cannot contend or compare with. I pray that, that will be your lot in the Name of Jesus.

In 1998, we had a programme dedicated to teachers. It was a deliverance programme organised to address the poverty of teachers. We prayed the prayers for knowledge, skill and wisdom on that day. A teacher came with her son who is a pilot. She had seven children who still depended on her. This woman had all the problems in the world. She could not ‘make ends meet’ at the end of the month and had to borrow money from her subordinates, even though she was the Vice Principal of her school. Her children were grown and were university graduates, but depended on her. One of them is a pilot and was working with a local airline but it was as if he was not working at all. During the deliverance programme they both prayed fervently on that day.

After a while, there was an advertisement in the Newspapers, that an American airline was recruiting pilots. The young man applied and he was invited to an interview. His performance impressed the airline and he was recruited immediately. When he heard the good news, he fainted. He was given a ten-year contract worth millions of dollars and was given thousands of Dollars to pay off the company he was working with. This job changed his life and that of the members of his family. His mother came to show me the keys to the jeep he bought for her and narrated how ‘power changed hands’ in their lives. He bought her a house and all she needed, and he went to the U.S.A. to assume his post as pilot.

That is what happens when there is a supernatural knowledge and skill imparted into your life. The God of Daniel is still the same today. If you want Him to bestow upon you, the anointing for skill, wisdom and knowledge, He is ready to do it. The God of Daniel is the One you will find in Daniel 1:17. He reveals the truth to His children, through dreams and revelations.

The God of Daniel is the God of Divine Revelation.

Daniel 1:17:

“As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams”.

He can reveal to you, before an interview, all the questions that you will be asked and you will know all the secrets before you get there. Since the beginning of the history of the world, there has never been a man or woman, who has the ability to have divine dreams, who ever failed, but the problem is this; instead of having divine dreams these days, Christians are seeing themselves, being pursued by masquerades in their dreams. They are being harassed by spirit husbands or wives and all sorts of terrible dreams. The God of Daniel is the One, Who is able to set aside, all these terrible dreams and replace them with night visions and revelations.

Beloved, I want you to understand this very well the God of Daniel is the God of revelation. I came from a very poor family; so poor that, Daddy would complain that the soup Mummy prepared was not good enough, forgetting that it was the amount of money he gave her, that determined the ingredients she bought. It was that bad; so, when I got born again I began to pray and God began to show me certain things and I made up my mind, that I will not be poor. You must know where you are coming from so that you can work hard, to get to where you are going. Many people who are supposed to be discreet in what they do, are loud, thus the enemy finds his way into their life. Maybe nobody knows them on the street before, but the day they throw a party and lavish money on people, those who did not know them, would know that they have money to flaunt. I knew where I was coming from and so, I was able to pray and work hard. Later, I got a scholarship to travel abroad. The ticket, school fees, everything was given to me. I knew that if I made noise about it, I would probably not go. I kept silent and prepared. It was on the day I was travelling, that people saw me in my suit, with my suitcase. Sometimes, we need to be discrete, so as not to expose our secrets to the enemy.

During my stay in England, I worked hard and one day my supervisor advised that I should take a break and go to Nigeria on holiday. He persistently told me to take a break. One night, I had a dream, where I saw myself at the Ikeja Airport. Our flight to London was announced and I looked round, but could not find the exit to the tarmac. Eventually I found it, but by the time I got to the tarmac, the aeroplane had taken off and I was left behind. That dream made me to know, that I should not go home so, I told my supervisor that I would not go. Some Nigerian students went and during their stay in Nigeria, there was a ‘Coup d’ Etat’. All borders and airports were closed and no one could travel out. By the time they got back, some of them had missed examinations, some failed woefully. Some could not go back to England because their sponsors were killed in the ‘Coup d’ Etat’ and that marked the end of their career. I could have fallen into that category too. You need divine visions to sort out your life.

The God of Daniel is the God of sovereign power.

Daniel 2:21:

“And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding”.

He is the God, who rules nations; He has the power to remove a king, and replace him with another one. He has the power to crush the pride of earthly rulers. He does not mind giving the sack to anyone whose position is hindering the progress of His children. Today, the strongman that constitutes a hindrance to your breakthrough shall be bound and your breakthroughs shall be released in the Name of Jesus.

I met a young Nigerian in England. I preached to him and he always made fun of me. He was a First Class Material. He cleared his Master Degree with a distinction and he got ready to leave. We all bade him bye. After a few days, I received a letter, which had the etiquette of the maximum prison on the enveloped. I read it and found out that it was that young man. He asked me to come to the prison, to pay him a visit. He asked me to buy a few things and bring for him. He said he realised that what I was telling him was the truth. I made up my mind that I would not go, for fear of being arrested as complice. I put the letter somewhere and the Lord talked to me expressly, that I should go to the prison to see the young man.

When I got there, he burst into tears, lamenting that if he had listened to me, he would not have been in prison. He said he got born again there and had been preaching to the inmates about Jesus, that they only made fun of him. I prayed with him, he confessed his sins to the Lord and we asked God to intervene in his situation. When I got back to town, I informed other brethren and we started to pray. On the day he was taken to court, we were in the court room, praying silently in tongues.

The judge was very aggressive he promised to deal treacherously with him. We had to call on the God of Daniel; we asked for a replacement of the judge, with a more lenient person. At the next hearing, it was another judge that presided over the case. The new judge looked at the brother and asked if it was true that he bagged a First Class Honours Degree in Nigeria, and that he got a Distinction in Masters Degree in England. The brother answered in the affirmative. The judge then said, for an intelligent person to steal money, he had to be mad; therefore, he would not jail him in England, but repatriate him to Nigeria. We knew that the brother was not mad; we knew that the God of Daniel was at work.

The God of Daniel is the God of secrets.

Daniel 2:22:

“He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him”.

He is the God that reveals secrets. All the secrets of the universe are known to God. All the past, present and future are known to God. He can tell the destinies of nations. He can tell you, what will happen in the next five or six years. If there is any conspiracy against you, God can show you the secret. God can make you discover a witchcraft meeting and you will hear their discussions so that you can counter their plans.

As you are there right now, there is a secret about your life, that you would need to know. Immediately you know it, your life will explode. Find out what it is.

Many years ago, we preached a message about destiny and prosperity. A woman was there and when she got home, she prayed fervently. She was learned, had a job, but was very poor. The Lord drew her attention to the piece of land behind her house, and told her in a clear voice, to start planting vegetables there. She thought it was the devil that was making a denigrating proposal to her. She bound the voice in anger because she had a Master’s Degree in Education. The Lord made her to know that He was the One speaking and she complied. She started the vegetable farm and it was as if the whole town was waiting for her. They abandoned every other vegetable and bought hers. It got to an embarrassing stage where nobody else could sell vegetables until hers, finished. Within one year, this teacher that used to be poor, had enough money to build a house with proceeds from vegetable- farming. I pray that the Lord will reveal to you, the secrets that will move your life forward.

The God of Daniel is the God of deliverance.

Daniel 6:20-22:

“And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Then said Daniel unto the king: “O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt”.

Immediately Daniel got into the Lion’s den, the lions recognised him as the son of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Lions do not eat lions. So they did not touch him.

One day, a friend’s wife was travelling in a Luxurious bus. Suddenly, one of the passengers asked the driver to stop for him to ease himself. The driver stopped and someone came to the woman, to say that a man at the back wanted to see her that he was her husband’s classmate at school. The woman got up to go and see the person. A few seconds later, a trailer ran into the Luxurious bus and all the people sitting at the front where the woman got up from, perished. The amazing part of the story is the fact that the woman could not see the person who came to call her to the back. That must have been God’s angel of deliverance that came to call her out of danger.

The God of Daniel is the God of signs and wonders.

Daniel 6:26-27:

“I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions”.

A sister got married and on the wedding night, she refused the traditional ‘pouring of water’ on her feet. The groom’s mother got angry and promised to show her ‘pepper’. That night, the bride had a dream, where she saw her mother-in-law dip her hand into her stomach and pulled out her womb. She went to the back of their house and nailed the womb to the wall. Although, this sister was born again, she did not know anything about spiritual warfare. She remembered having the dream but did not know that it could have any implication on her. She discovered that she could not get pregnant, even though medical tests and scans could not detect anything wrong with her. She was childless for 16 years. The Lord brought her to MFM and she started to pray fire prayers. One night, she had a dream, where she saw her mother-in-law come into the house, with her womb and she collected it. In real life, the mother-in-law died many years before then. That was how the sister got her breakthrough. She got pregnant and now has children.

I know that the God of Daniel shall visit you today. However, if you are reading this message and you have not yet surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I would like you to take that decision, right there where you are. You must be born again, to be a partaker of the blessing of the God of Daniel. Why do not you take that decision today? Right there where you are, the Lord is with you and wants you to come to Him. All you need do is acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner, that you cannot approach God in your sinful state. Repent of your sins right there where you are, confess your sins to Him; name them one by one and ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Claim the redemptive power in the Blood of Jesus. Renounce the world of sin and the devil. Jesus is waiting for you. Let today be the day when power will change hands in your life and the miracle of God will take root in your life. God will bless you as you take that decision.

Invite the Lord Jesus into your life. Ask Him to come into your heart and become your personal Lord and Saviour. Enthrone Him over your life and ask Him to take control of all that concerns you. Surrender your totality to Him and decide that you will never go back to the world of sin and the devil.

I congratulate you for this decision that you have just taken. It is the most important decision in life. I pray that it shall be permanent in your life in the Name of Jesus. I pray that the Lord will uphold you with His right hand of righteousness and will keep you from falling. I pray that the Lord will write your name in the Book of Life and you will not by any means rub it off in the Name of Jesus. Say bye-bye to the world of darkness and enter into the Kingdom of Light.

The prayers that I am suggesting below are prayers of divine intervention, by the God of Daniel. As you pray them, the spirits that have been tormenting you will leave you. The healing power of God will go forth and heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases in your spirit, soul and body. Make sure you do not allow any distraction. Every arrow that has been fired at you will go back to the sender. The power of God will fall upon you and you will be delivered from even terminal diseases. The power of God will pop out like pop-corn and things will begin to happen.

Take these prayer points with holy aggression:

- God of Daniel arise and pursue my pursuers in the Name of Jesus.

- Every occultist power searching for my face, die in the Name of Jesus.

- In the presence of those asking for my God, O God of Daniel, manifest Your power in the Name of Jesus.

- Every plantation of witchcraft in my body be uprooted in the Name of Jesus
- I arrest every profitless hard work in the Name of Jesus.

- I cancel every failure at the edge of breakthroughs in the Name of Jesus.

- Every ladder of darkness that the enemy has been using to get into my life, break and burn to ashes in the Name of Jesus.

- Every harassment from the spirit of death and hell cease in the Name of Jesus.

- Let every mark of hatred upon my forehead; be rubbed off by the Blood of Jesus.

- God of Daniel, pass through my life with signs and wonders in the Name of Jesus.

- God of Daniel anoint me for favour in the Name of Jesus.

- Serpents and Scorpions in my body go back to your sender in the Name of Jesus.

- Stubborn witchcraft of my father’s house, die in the Name of Jesus.

- Stubborn witchcraft of my mother’s house die in the Name of Jesus.

** When your star begins to shine, there are some boasting powers that would want to ask questions. These powers would want to impede your movement. Therefore take these prayers with boiling anger.
- Every child of Belial, every child of Belzebub, I cast you out of my progress in the Name of Jesus.

- Listen to me, household witchcraft, your time is up; therefore die in the Name of Jesus.

- Every power that has to die, for my joy to be full die in the Name of Jesus.

- Doors, Gates of my breakthroughs, open by fire in the Name of Jesus.

- Every personal wall of Jericho in my life, crumble in the Name of Jesus.

- I possess my possession in the Name of Jesus.

- I seal all my prayers with the Blood of Jesus.

 

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