Pray Network Forum

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up in the midst of all the people and declared to them the gospel. In Acts 2:22 he described Jesus as,

“A man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know”

Don’t you think that was a strange way for Peter to say that. Wouldn’t you have simply said, Jesus performed miracles? He said “that God did through him.” You need to understand that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem He really became a man. He did not lay down His position as the Son of God. But He laid down His power.  John 5:19 says,

“The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.”

Ephesians 3:20,21 says something crucial here.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

What is the power at work within us? It is the moving of the Holy Spirit. And that is the exact same power that was it work in the life of Jesus. In fact in John 14:12 he said,

“Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

Now what does that say to us about sharing the gospel? It tells us that the key to sharing Christ is prayer. In John 15 7,8 Jesus said,

“If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my father's Glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Every one of us needs to have a list of the people who do not know Christ, that God in His sovereignty has put us in contact with. And we need to pray for them everyday.

You know what else? Occasionally we have opportunities to witness that we didn't know were coming. Of course that means we need to and can have a consistent daily prayer life. But it also calls us to get into the habit of praying for people wherever we are. You can pray for a hundred people walking through a Walmart store. Have you ever stood in line say at the grocery store you don't have anything else to do I pray for those people one at a time in front of you.

Now some of you are asking, “What in the world would I pray for those people I do not know?” over the years I have Acquired and developed some memory Guides of things that I really do know to pray for people. But I was going in the article without telling you any of them. That is because part of developing the habit of praying for people Wherever You Are is going through the struggle of allowing the Holy Spirit to show you what to pray for people. And He will do that. I wait for that my wife's purging I will share one with you. It is not original with me I have forgotten exactly where I got it. It is an acrostic for the word B.L.E.S.S. We bless people in prayer.

BODY

Right for a person's physical needs.

LABOR

Pray for a person's work, ability, income, and purpose in life.

EMOTIONS

I pray for a hunger for God, and for ultimate peace.

SOCIAL

Pray for their relationships. Pray for a person's marriage. Relationships will be a barrier or an aid to a person's coming to Christ.

And SPIRITUAL

Pray for the Holy Spirit to draw them.

Who knows who God is preparing to use you to bring to Himself?

This is one of several blog entries taken from a sermon I preached at Crosspoint Church in Reno, NV. You can find the recording and other good things on their website.  http://crosspoint.org/index.php/2016-06-01-08-45-06/274-now-to-him-who-is-able-listen-carefully

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. -1 Peter 1:6-7

Peter was writing to believers who were suffering in all kinds of ways. They lived in the midst of some of the greatest miracles and revelations of God in all history, yet they also endured some of the most terrible things that people have ever gone through.

It is to our advantage that the early church went through so many, and so severe, troubles. If they hadn’t, we might be tempted to think that our experience in this world is an exception to the rule.

Peter makes two very helpful and encouraging points here.

First, whatever it is that’s causing us pain, and however devastating it may be, it is purely temporary. It may for the moment be filling up the entire screen for us, but, even though this may seem unbelievable, it is for the moment! And we may feel like our problems or grief will never end. But, as sure as the sun rises each morning, there will come a day when it’s all over and we can look back upon our trial and either just laugh at it or simply reflect upon it with a new sense of maturity and wisdom.

And even if it lasts until our last day on earth, we all know by now that time passes so swiftly that we always seem to ask, “Where did the time go?” The trouble is for “a little while.” As a boy I discovered every year that the school term may seem unending, but inevitably the summer break came.

Secondly, we can be assured that whatever the nature of our temporary troubles, God is using them to perfect us. This life is like the refiner’s fire. The hotter it gets the better it is for us. Like the gold that gets more and more purified, we are getting more and more perfected by our suffering. We may not like this arrangement, for normally we want more and more comfort, but that not the way things always are. Because of our fallen nature, we aren’t likely to be matured and purified by more comfort, ease, and prosperity. If you look at any old saint they didn’t get that way by relaxing on a hammock under a shade tree, but by going through the fire.

In other words, Peter is assuring us that whatever happens to us in this life is for our good and for the growth of our faith. We’re being prepared for something great. Let’s keep in mind that the whole purpose of this life is to grow in trust in a trustworthy God and to spend eternity in his presence—and we have his promise and assurance that he will be with us always, and in every thing. So may our prayers not simply be “Lord, make it easier for me,” but “Lord, fashion me into the image of Jesus your Son.” And that is the goal of the Christian life.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
-Deuteronomy 31:8

I would like the communities thoughts /opinions /ideas on the prayer below.

I have been praying this prayer for about six months now, and I believe that I/we are starting to see God answer some of this prayer. Ideally, I would like to see hundreds (and thousands) of people praying this daily so that it has MUCH more power and we can crash the gates of Heaven with much violence (Matt 11:12)

Thank you,

John

P. S. Feel free to pass this along to anyone who you think would pray this prayer everyday....

In the mighty name of Jesus I declare that:

I release the angels of promotions and demotions, to raise up to power those who would give glory to You, promote and fight for the advancement of Your will and kingdom, and demote those that will not.

I release the angels of chaos and commotion upon our government to reveal the wounds and corruption in our government and land and show us how to repair and heal.

Let everything that can be shaken that is not built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, be shaken and torn down forever.

I release the angels of sabotage to sabotage and destroy the plans, assignments, and attacks of the enemy in every county, and court, of the United States that are meant to hinder, or stop, the plans of God on our country.

I declare in the mighty name of Jesus that we come against any legislation, and legislators, wherein our government would seek to benefit itself financially, physically, or in any other way, that does not follow the principles and guidelines of Good Government, that does not seek the benefit of the people, for the people, and by the people, that goes against the strengthening and moralization of the United States.

I declare that all legislation, and legislators, new and old, standing and proposed, will come under the scrutiny of lawmakers, and citizens of the United States, through the lens of God's Word and Law and the ideals of the documents that made this country great as they were set forth; and those that do not pass the test be struck down and removed without opposition, never to rise again, in the mighty name of Jesus! !

I declare that no person would acquire, or retain, a government seat that will:
- steal from future generations
- not endorse policies that will defend life and religious liberty
- twist and defile the meaning of marriage
- decimate and destroy our military

I agree with all those that have gone before us and spiritually fought for the healing and restoration of our land and government synergizing our prayers and becoming more powerful in Jesus' name!

I release the spirit of the prophetic upon this country as in Joel 2:28.... and I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; your sons and your daughter shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

I release the angels of prodigal return upon my family and return my prodigal sons and daughters to our family.

I release the lost/misplaced/forgotten Mantles of anointings and authority for me and my family be released today! No more delay!

I declare that this is the generation that follows hard after You and chases after Your cloud!

That we as warriors of God will strike like lightning, roar like tigers, and roll like thunder! Joel 2:1-11

Amen

What do all of these bullets below have in common?

• You need direction
• Someone near you needs direction in their life
• You are confused
• You have no peace

ANSWER: The God of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33) has the answer.

Lack of Peace is an Answer

And remember that if you DO NOT HAVE PEACE, this is also an answer.

You may call it a “check in your spirit.”

Until you have peace, you do not move forward.

No Peace, No Move!

Blessings My Friends,

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If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -- John 15:7-8

Books about prayer promises are popular. "Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Who wouldn't buy into that?

But like all promises in the Bible, this one has a context - and the context of this promise is fruitfulness. Six times in the first 8 verses of John 15, Jesus mentions fruit or fruitfulness. And he comes back to it in verse 16.

God longs to answer our prayers - but the condition for that in this passage is that we remain in Jesus, and his words remain in us.

I find myself missing the mark in two different ways when I think about the kind of prayer talked about in this passage - the kind of prayer that comes from remaining in Christ and has as its goal God's glory.

First, some of my prayer life is too taken up with the "whatever you wish" part. My prayers can be more about what I'm hoping for than about what I think will bring glory to God. To be sure, providing for His children does bring glory to God - but only if that provision results in our praise back to him. When I forget to be thankful, when I take for granted the many blessings (see my previous blog post for a few examples), then God's meeting my needs and his fulfillment of my desires becomes all about me, and doesn't bring him glory.

The second one is even harder for me. When I do pray for God to be glorified, when I ask him for courage and perseverance for the Persecuted Church, when I pray for the Gospel to go to the unreached, when I plead for a returning of my country to values based in his word - I often pray these things knowing that it's God's will to do them and knowing that it's his will for me to pray for them, but without enough faith to actually believe they're going to happen in a meaningful way. Though I long to see God glorified, I often fall into the trap of looking around me and believing what I see with my physical eyes rather than what I could see with the eyes of faith.

Fruitful prayer is not just about remaining in Christ - though it starts there. It's also about believing in God's answers and knowing that he does indeed respond to bring glory to himself. Faith tells me that my prayers for the advancement of God's kingdom are indeed being answered - even if my natural eyes don't see it.

Isn’t it exciting to have your precious grandchild come running into your arms with hugs and kisses? Your six-year-old granddaughter calling to tell you she lost her first tooth and the tooth fairy is coming to her house or your seven-year-old grandson thrilled to tell you how many goals he made in his soccer game. Last Saturday my two youngest granddaughters came over to visit and we enjoyed making cookies together. Just as you enjoy your relationships with your grandchildren, God enjoys your relationship with Him.

This month as we celebrate Valentine’s we are reminded of our relationships, a time when friends express love to each other. However, it can also be a great reminder for us to express our love to our heavenly Father for the privilege of having a personal relationship with Him.

Prayer is about a relationship, our relationship with God, and those for whom we pray.

God gave us the gift of prayer so we could communicate with Him because He loves us and desires our communication. God does not want us to make our prayers a great production He wants to have a personal, intimate conversation with us speaking from our hearts, sharing our fears and struggles.

Paul Miller writes in his book, The Praying Life, “American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray, we are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. However, prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless as if we are wasting time.” ₁ Our heavenly Father rejoices when we take the time in our busy, hurried life to communicate with Him in prayer, expressing our love to Him, since relationships thrive on communication.

The enemy, Satan distracts us with our busy lives hindering our walk with God by distracting our thoughts, making our prayers shallow, hurried, or rote. We face a great deal of stress, difficulty, and disappointments in life for which we need to be deliberate in setting a regular time to pray for our loved ones and ourselves, not just when we have a crisis.

Our lives will be less stressful if we bring our needy hearts to God asking Him to work out His agenda in our life and in the lives of our loved ones, instead of giving Him our agenda. As we see our prayers answered, we will grow into a more intimate relationship with God and experience more boldness in our praying.  

• Do you sometimes feel like you are too busy to pray?
• Are your prayers hurried or repetitious?
• When you pray do you find it hard to connect with God in our distracting world?

Send your heavenly Father a Valentine telling him of your love for him by your obedience to him.

Prayer

Dear Father, I want to an open intimate relationship with You

so I feel comfortable bringing my needy heart to You.

I choose to make a daily appointment with You to pray intentionally for the hearts

of my children, grandchildren, and myself.

I am going to trust you that the seeds of prayer I sow today

will bring forth a harvest of blessings in the days ahead. In Jesus Name.

Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress 2009), 15.

Used by Permission of NavPress, All Rights Reserved. www.navpress.com

© 2012 Lillian Penner

Do you know the central teaching of Scripture? It can be found in every book of the Bible and brings it all together. It is the gospel. “For God so loved the world. . .” “That Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” That, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.”

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood and explained what God was pouring out into the world and in Acts 2:22-24 Peter focused everything on the gospel.

Men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It is important to understand that Peter did not present the gospel as an abstract concept.

Look at Peter’s words. “Hear these words, ‘Jesus of Nazareth!’”

Jesus is the gospel. If you have never come to know Jesus Christ personally, you need to understand that Jesus Himself is reaching out to you in His incomparable love. In John 14:6 Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life. 1 John 5:20 tells us He is eternal life.

You who are believers need to understand that the gospel is not something you will ever grow beyond. The privilege of knowing Jesus is the wonderful foundation of everything you will ever learn, or need, or enjoy in Christ. Let me point out just one narrow application of this truth. Do you know why the fellowship of the church is so wonderful? It is because Jesus indwells us. You can see Jesus, you can hear His voice and feel His embrace when we get together in the church.

But there are many applications of the gospel in our lives. If we look at the fruit of the Spirit for example. Galatians 5:22-23 begins the list with love. “We love because He first loved us.” The next is joy. At the birth of Jesus the Angel told the shepherds he brought them “Good news of great joy!” Next comes peace. “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The list continues from patience through self-control. Each of these and every other facet of spiritual growth comes as we understand and apply the gospel to our lives. And the gospel is Jesus Christ. We do not believe in it. We believe in Him.

This and the next few entries in this blog come from a sermon I preached at Crosspoint Church in Reno, NV. You can find the recording on their website.  http://crosspoint.org/index.php/2016-06-01-08-45-06/274-now-to-him-who-is-able-listen-carefully

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

• Pray a blessing for the Jizani people, that they would have their physical needs met and that they would have a spiritual hunger to know God through Jesus Christ.

• Pray that a new generation of Jesus followers will rise up out of the foundations of the ancient church to bring Him unique worship from this land.

• Pray for the peace and prosperity of Jizan.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-9KuFjMxKo&feature=youtu.be