The Prayer Factor #2

Prayer is Transacting Spiritual Business  

 

What does transacting spiritual business mean? The word transacts means to carry on or conduct (business, negotiations, activities, etc.) to a conclusion. When we express our hearts to Him, We are carrying on the work of God in prayer. We are doing His business. The word spiritual means we have the authority in Jesus name.

R A Torrey once said “prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer.”

Matthew 18:18-19 says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” When we pray we pray to his will.

There is a spiritual law in effect here.

The Law of spiritual Authority.  “When we take Authority on Earth God releases Power from Heaven.” Prayer can penetrate places where no other power can reach.

If we define that a little further…the spiritual law is “a sequence of Events occurring with unvarying Uniformity.” God’s said he would and His word hasn’t changed.

That’s why Jesus said “whatever you bind here is bound in heaven.” The phrase when we Bind here on earth…it means “to compel as by oath or legal restraint.” It’s a binding agreement. The conditions are we simply agree together.

Here are the vast possibilities of prayer agreement; Wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and heaven through prayer. There is no situation or problem too great for the power of prayer. It leads to all blessings, taps the power of God and it brings the prayer warrior into the very presence of God Himself. More tomorrow...

You are Loved!

The Prayer Factor Part 2

Prayer is…

 

1.   Entreating Spiritual Power
Someone once said “Prayer is a cannon set at the gates of heaven to burst open its gates.” Now I know we have access anytime to God, but the power of prayer is no more or no less than the mighty power of God released through the life of a man or woman who stops being an obstacle to God.

The power of answered prayer is Gods alone; and that power is unlimited when we believe. I read a story of an elderly widow from the slums of New York who had never ventured far from her home. A person who was told of this woman’s life invited her to spend the weekend at their ocean side cottage. The lady who had never seen all the luxuries was awestruck by the beauty of the location. As the benefactor who invited this lady watched her, she stood and looked overwhelmed by the vast expanse of water and the beautiful surroundings. As she stood there tears began to flow down her cheeks. The benefactor asked her why she was crying. She simply replied, “Because it’s so wonderful to see something there is enough of.”

We can struggle in this area of enough in prayer. It’s not the…can God do it, but the…will God do it. If you have faith to believe in God, you will also believe there will always be enough! God has enough (unlimited) power to use on our behalf, anytime, anyplace, any situation. I’ve had to remind myself that a lot lately. God will never leave us begging when he has more than enough.

Many years ago when I was still single after I had just accepted Christ; I decided to hang with my cousin who was saved and one night her college group rented the gym out to have some fun. They were into volleyball I was into football, and when I realized they were into tackle volleyball, oh ya. One of the guys jumped to spike on me and my elbow accidently put a big gash into this guy’s forehead. Well he ran into my elbow. As he went to the ground and held his head, there was some blood. Like all over the place. So my initial reaction was just to pray. I was still a young Christian and my mentor Tom told me God answered prayer. So I got down and prayed for him. The blood stopped and as I was about to pray for healing, someone said “you don’t think God will actually heal him?” Yes I did.

But that question made me doubt for just a second. The bible tells me God answers prayer. Yes or no, he answers. Men and women throughout time have had to learn to rely and trust God knows what’s best.

Think about Elijah:

Elijah believed God answered prayer. But there was this constant struggle within himself and he even doubted God. In 1 Kings 18:36-38 he stood up in faith to do what God had called him to do…Elijah has prophesied against Ahab & Jezebel and has summoned the people for sacrifice. The people had turned their hearts away from God; Ahab & Jezebel where terrible evil people and rulers. So all the people and the prophets of Baal showed up; if you know the story he taunts the prophets to a dual basically. My God is better than your God type of thing. So Baal prophets build an altar and Elijah watches until about noon, and then begins to challenge them. Why hasn’t Baal answered your prayers yet? So Elijah tells the people to grab twelve stones, he builds an altar with trenches around it, and then tells them to pour water over everything.

In verse 36 he says… “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

What was Elijah doing? He was entreating God to move with power to change the people’s hearts. The demonstration of power came by the “fire of the Lord. It burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the soil, and the water in the trench.” What a demonstration. Verse 39 says “when all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, the Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.”

We see another example in 1 Samuel 7:9-10, Samuel was offering a sacrifice on behalf of the nation of Israel because the people had assembled to contemplate turning back to God. The people for twenty years had turned their hearts away and worshipped the Ashtoreth’s and was now mourning doing so because they were being attacked again by an enemy; This time the philistines. In verse 9 it says… “Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him.”

This is important; the only limits to prayer are the limits of God. As far as God goes, prayer goes. More tomorrow...

 

You are Loved!

 

Expressing Our Hearts In Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ‘Pray without ceasing.'

When the Bible says, ‘Pray without ceasing,’ that means pray every day, not just periodically or when you’re in trouble. James 5:16 says, ‘The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.’

Ever played with a slinky? If you just hold it, is the intent of what it is supposed to do fulfilled. The point of the slinky is to see if you can make it do its thing on what ever object you can. It’s the physics involved. But what happens when the slinky doesn't do what we want? most of would give up trying.

Prayer is just like playing with this slinky…at some point you lose interest or just want to give up. But that's the whole point isn't...when your prayers don't get answered, how we would like them to; do we just give-up?  

The word ‘fervent’ in James means passionate, persistent and determined. It’s not the number of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they may be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they may be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the theology of our prayers, how good the doctrine is, that God responds to.

Fervency of spirit is what ‘avails much’. The most powerful thing you can do is pray! And when you join with a prayer partner, your potential is awesome. ‘If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that [you] ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven.’ (Matthew 18:19 NKJV) It works like this: the less you pray, the less you want to pray; the more you pray, the more you want to pray. Nothing will motivate you to pray like answered prayer. But you can’t start with the answer; you’ve got to start with the prayer! Here’s a fact of life: we only keep doing what rewards us. So the key to building a great prayer life is to pray until you get answers. So pray in faith and expect God to answer!

You are Loved!

The Power of Prayer

'Pray without ceasing.' 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV

When the Bible says, ‘Pray without ceasing,’ that means pray every day, not just periodically or when you’re in trouble. ‘The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.’ (James 5:16 NKJV) The word ‘fervent’ means passionate, persistent and determined. It’s not the number of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they may be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they may be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the theology of our prayers, how good the doctrine is, that God responds to.

Fervency of spirit is what ‘avails much’. The most powerful thing you can do is pray! And when you join with a prayer partner, your potential is awesome. ‘If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that [you] ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven.’ (Matthew 18:19 NKJV) It works like this: the less you pray, the less you want to pray; the more you pray, the more you want to pray. Nothing will motivate you to pray like answered prayer. But you can’t start with the answer; you’ve got to start with the prayer! Here’s a fact of life: we only keep doing what rewards us. So the key to building a great prayer life is to pray until you get answers. Think how deeply rooted doubt has actually become in our hearts when we’re surprised to find our prayers answered! So pray in faith and expect God to answer!

You are Loved!

Three Important Questions You Must Ask

'So be careful how you live... Make the most of every opportunity...' Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT

Following a plan is like using a GPS device (Global Positioning System). If you have a smart phone it has GPS and maps. It knows where you are, you tell it where you want to go, and it creates a personalised road map. The difference between a GPS and you is you have to create all your own turn–by–turn directions.

Mark Twain said, ‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting the first one.’

To reach your destination you must ask yourself three questions:
(1) What’s my present position? It’s impossible to ignore the reality of where you are right now and still be successful. The former CEO of General Electric observed, ‘Strategic management is trying to understand where you will sit in tomorrow’s world, not where you hope to sit; it’s assessing where you want to be, and where you can be.’

(2) What’s my desired destination? Write down what your dream will look like when you’ve achieved it. Henry J. Kaiser, founder of Kaiser–Permanente health care system, said, ‘The evidence is overwhelming that you cannot begin to achieve your best unless you have some aim in life.’

(3) What are the in–between steps? Don’t expect them to be quick or easy. Creativity is messy. It’s far from an exact science. But unless you know where you want to go and identify the steps that will get you there, ten years from now you’ll still be where you are today. So Make the most of every opportunity.

You are Loved!

Love Your Pastor

'He...gave some to be...pastors.' Ephesians 4:11 NKJV

 

I don't do this often; talk about myself. But since it is pastor appreciation month I thought I would share something I received from a friend.

 

"Pastors have a tough job. They get more kicks than kisses. If a pastor is young, he lacks experience; if he’s grey–haired, he’s too old. If he has five kids, he has too many; if he has none, he’s setting a bad example. If his wife sings in the worship team, she’s being forward; if not, she’s not dedicated enough. If he preaches from notes, he’s dry; if his words are impromptu, he’s too shallow. If he spends too much time in his study, he’s neglecting his people; if he makes home visits, he’s not a good time manager. If he’s attentive to the poor, he’s after public approval; if he attends to the wealthy, he’s ingratiating. If he suggests improvements, he’s a dictator; if he doesn’t, he has no vision. If he uses too many illustrations, he neglects the Bible; if he doesn’t use enough stories, he’s unclear. If he speaks against wrong, he’s legalistic; if he doesn’t, he’s a compromiser. If he preaches for an hour, he’s windy; less than that, he has nothing to say. If he preaches the truth, he’s offensive; if he doesn’t, he’s wishy–washy. If he fails to please everybody, he’s hurting the church; if he tries to please everybody, he has no convictions. If he preaches tithing, he’s a money–grabber; if not, he’s failing to develop his people. If he receives a large salary, he’s mercenary; if he doesn’t, it proves he’s not worth much. If he preaches on a regular basis, people get tired of hearing the same person; if he invites guest preachers, he’s shirking his responsibility." Wow! And you thought your pastor has an easy life! How’d you like to change places? Bottom line: We need your Love and prayers!

By the way...You are Loved!

Be Flexible in all you Do

'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.' Psalm 37:23 NKJV

The Psalmist writes, ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.’ (Psalm 37:23–24 NKJV)

There are three things God desires from us:
(1) God delights in the fact that you’re willing to step out in faith and try.
(2) He doesn’t guarantee that you won’t stumble, but that ultimately He won’t let you fail.
(3) When you feel like you can’t go on, He will uphold and strengthen you.

What more could you ask for? God never changes, but life does. So you must be ready to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, is credited with having been a visionary leader. His dream was to provide value to customers in order to improve their lives. But he was notorious for changing plans and abandoning strategies that didn’t work. Sam’s son Jim Walton admitted, ‘We all laughed at some writers who viewed Dad as a grand strategist who intuitively developed complex plans and implemented them with precision. Dad thrived on change, and no decision was ever sacred.’ What good is a well–planned strategy if it doesn’t yield good results? 

God is more committed to the vision He’s given you than you are. But when He leads you in a new direction, you must be ready to follow Him. Like Israel in the wilderness, when the guiding cloud moved they had to move with it. The same goes for you. So, be flexible.

You are Loved!