Some wise words from Anne Graham Lotz.
“For you are all sons (those who inherit) of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 3:26, 4:6-7
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much.”
James 5:16b
If there’s anything we need right now, it’s active and powerful prayer by God’s people that produces results.
But a lot can get in the way of that, and that can be confusing and discouraging.
There’s an easy-to-read booklet, though, that addresses many of the concerns we all have. It’s called Effective Prayer Life, written by Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel.
It’s simple and to the point, and very encouraging.
The chapters start with the basics: What is Prayer?, and continues with The Purpose of Prayer, The Privilege of Prayer, Effective Prayer, Strength in Prayer, Pray, and I will Answer, and Sin of Prayerlessness.
The book’s been around for decades so a paperback can be found for as little as 3 or 4 dollars, $0 for kindle.
I hope (and pray!) that whether it’s through this booklet or something else, the Lord will fan the flames of our faith, and we would each grow in our desire to pray, in the Spirit, prayers that would move mountains.
For Him, 
Yes, it’s good to read God’s Word. Yes, it’s good to receive it into our hearts, to think on its wisdom, to love its statutes, its precepts, its commandments, its decrees, its principles, and especially the God who gave them.
Then, as we allow them to take root in our hearts and grow as we put them into practice, live our lives by them, walking with Him by faith, the seeds of sin will be choked out and its shame and guilt with them, leaving room for the full bloom of the peace of God.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Psalm 23:5
In our suffering, our grief, our trials, our pains, no matter what form they take, and no matter what the enemy tries to whisper in our ear, we can yield to God’s will – the death of our flesh and the deepening of our faith, and feast on the power of the Holy Spirit within us giving us strength and courage and boldness and faith and peace.
And as He shapes us into the image of Christ, we will magnify and glorify Him, and we become witnesses to the world of the faithfulness, righteousness, holiness, and goodness of Jesus Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and precious name. Lord, we are forever grateful for this free nation you’ve given us. Thank you for giving those who founded it a desire to have a land where we have a right to freedoms, including a right to freely seek you, and that their vision was based on their belief in you and your word.
Thank you for blessing us so abundantly.
Father, all these years later, as a nation we’ve forgotten you. What’s right is wrong, and what’s wrong is right. We’ve removed you from schools and courts and in many cases, churches. We humbly ask for your forgiveness, and we beseech you, on your great mercies by the blood of Jesus Christ and by the power of your Holy Spirit, we pray for revival.
We pray you would pour out your Spirit for an awakening to our sin leading to repentance. We pray you would come against the forces of darkness at work among us, that you would bind the hand of the enemy, pour out your grace, and heal our land.
We pray for churches that are led by unsaved people that you would bring salvation. We pray for churches that are led by people who have forgotten you that they would turn back to you and allow you to lead them. And we pray for churches that are led by those faithful to you, that are led by your Holy Spirit, that you would strengthen them and give them boldness and courage to continue teaching your word and praying with boldness.
Father, I ask for forgiveness for my own sins. Where there is sin hiding in my heart, please reveal it to me and help me confess it before you and walk uprightly, and be holy – set apart for you and your work. May you use the struggles in our lives to draw us ever closer to you and make us more faithful and more useful in your hands.
We pray for those who love you but have been hurt by the church and have left it. Please heal their hearts and lead them to a church that is Spirit-led where they can be loved and grow.
In all this, we pray you would strengthen the church to become a beacon of your light and holiness, examples of love in all we do to a lost and dying world that needs you so much.
Thank you for the true and lasting freedom you give us in Jesus Christ, and we pray you would move upon countless hearts to desire that same freedom, and through the salvation of many, our land would be free from hatred and violence, free to serve a Holy and loving God, and live with you, and one another, in peace.
We give you our hearts, Lord, and pray your perfect will is done. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
If you need prayer, please feel free to contact me.
After the LORD reminded me, I wanted to remind you to put on and keep on the full armor of God. Not one or two pieces. All of it. We never know when the enemy will come, and we can’t afford to get lazy or be found unprepared, caught up in the world.
And once we’re outfitted and ready for battle, we must pray in the Spirit.
Just as we’re called to now walk in the Spirit, by the renewed hearts and minds given to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we might obey Him and do all things in His power, so we are called to pray in the Spirit, asking Him to reveal to us the will of the Father, and then pray. Because without Him we can do nothing, but in Him we can do all things.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the
belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this,
take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18
Hello friends. I hope you’re having a great Saturday and preparing your heart for what the Lord desires to speak into your heart this weekend.
I heard this song again recently and with all that’s going on in our world, and in my own life, it really touched my heart, and I wanted to share it with you.
The God we serve – the great I AM, the creator of the universe and of you and me, the One who sent His own Son to purchase our souls, and has made a way for our eternity at home with Him – is, always has been, and always will be the King of the world.
No matter what we’re facing today or will face tomorrow, He’s got this, if we’ll just hold it out to Him and ask Him.
May He bless your day, your weekend, and may you see His strong and loving hand in all the things that concern you.
King of the World
by Natalie Grant
I try to fit you in the walls inside my mind
I try to keep you safely in between the lines
I try to put you in the box that I’ve designed
I try to pull you down so we are eye to eye
When did I forget that you’ve always been
The King of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands
Of the King of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that you’ve always been
The King of the world?
Just a whisper of your voice can tame the seas
So who am I to try to take the lead
Still I run ahead and think I’m strong enough
When you’re the one who made me from the dust
When did I forget that you’ve always been
The King of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands
Of the King of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that you’ve always been
The King of the world
Oh, you set it all in motion
Every single moment
You brought it all to me
And you’re holding on to me
When did I forget that you’ve always been
The King of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands
Of the King of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget you’ve always been
The King of the world
You will always be the King of the world
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and powerful name.
Lord, so many times we try to run from our brokenness and our weaknesses and perceived flaws by ignoring them or hiding them or trying to right them ourselves.
Instead, we offer them up to you today and ask that you would fill those places with your strength and power and make our faith even stronger, our character more beautiful, than we ever would have been without them.
We give you all the glory and honor and praise in advance for what you’re going to do. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
* * *
If you have any prayer requests, please leave a comment, message, or email me. I’d be honored to pray for you.
Before we get to our prayer, let’s look for just a moment at Pentecost.
With the Lord there are no coincidences.
First, Passover is the observance of the time in Egypt when God caused the plague of death to pass over the those who’d taken refuge inside homes where the doorframes were covered with sacrificial lamb’s blood.
And Passover was the day God ordained the crucifixion of Christ, the perfect sacrificial Lamb, and the shedding of His blood so that spiritual death would pass over any who would take refuge in the blood of Christ through belief in Him.
Likewise, fifty days after Passover is Pentecost (which means fifty), also known as the Feast of Weeks, the celebration of the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
It was also the day God ordained to send His Holy Spirit to indwell the disciples of Christ, referred to several times in the Bible as wheat, reaping the first fruits of the harvest of Christ’s work on the cross.
For those of us who believe in Christ and are filled with His Holy Spirit, we are the continued harvest of those seeds Christ planted all those years ago.
Not only is Passover a day to remember that miraculous, joyful time in the lives of the first disciples, but a celebration of what God’s still doing today.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your glorious name. Thank you for your perfect ways and for the beauty in all your plans.
Thank you for the gift of salvation and of your Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom, teaches us, ministers to us, comforts us, and leads us through the treacherous terrain in our lives. We are forever grateful for your grace and mercy.
Father, we pray you would use us to continue your work, and that many more harvests would come as your Holy Spirit works in and through us. In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.