As a Christian we live two lives. One is our inner life…or our vertical life. This is our very intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father and consists of prayer and Bible study. This vertical life is spent getting to know God. The other is our outer life…or our horizontal life. This is our relationship with others as an ambassador for Christ. It consists of being the hands and feet of Jesus. This horizontal life is spent showing the love of God to the unloved and unlovely. Both are vitally important and interdependent on each other…for both are necessary to a vibrant and growing Christian walk. Our vertical relationship with Christ sparks us to reach out horizontally to others with His love… which sends us back to Him to be refilled…only to be again compelled to reach out for Him.
Tag: prayers
Psalm 55:1-3 “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.”
Bad things happen to good people…for we live in a troubled and broken world where peace and unity is hard to find. But that doesn’t mean we have to cave in to all the ugliness around us. God has placed you on the earth at this particular time in history to make a difference…for you to be an influence, rather than being influenced by the wicked around you. Stand strong in the face of evil…pray without ceasing…tell others about Jesus.
Acts 4:29 ” Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness.”
Telling others about Jesus should come easy for the Believer. Declaring the Gospel to those we come in contact with should be as natural as asking, “How you doing today?” So why do we freeze up when it comes to talking about our faith? What exactly are we afraid of? For there is no fear in the Gospel…only freedom. So we should make the same request that the Apostle Paul made in Ephesians 6:19, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel…” Paul was confidently relying on the Holy Spirit to give him the words to speak…he just had to open his mouth in obedience.
Nehemiah 2:4 ” The King said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the King…”
King Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah what he wanted…but before he responded, Nehemiah prayed. It could be called an “as we go” prayer. This type of supplication doesn’t need to be long… just the length of a deep breath. It doesn’t need to be in depth…a simple “Give me wisdom, Lord!” will suffice. The Lord is with us always…His presence there in the middle of all situations…so why don’t we take a moment to seek His guidance before blurting out something we may later regret.
Luke 6: 27-28 ” But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
You can’t change how others in the world will react and behave towards you. The only thing you can change is how you respond…and this scripture is very direct in how you should go about it. You should love. Not loving the sin, but loving the sinner. You should bless. This means speaking well of someone even if you don’t agree with their life-style. You should pray. Now this is probably the most important command… for pray changes not only the person you’re praying for, but it changes you.
Psalm 38:15 ” I wait for You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God.”
If you’re praying but not expecting…why even bother? If you’re simply mouthing words because it’s the thing to do, but have no hope that God will answer…why waste your breath. If it’s only for show that you pray…why even go there if you don’t truly believe that your prayers are heard? If you’re praying, but not expecting God to move…why bother.
Genesis 35:15 ” Jacob called the place where God had talked to him Bethel.”
Communicating with the Lord doesn’t need to be done in some special building…with just the perfect words. No, talking with God should be as natural as breathing…as fluid as movement…and as comfortable as your own skin. Any time or place can become your Bethel…your House of God.
Romans 8:26-27 ” In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”
When the situation is so dire that you don’t have any idea how to pray…allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. When no words can come through the tears and pain, the Holy Spirit knows what to say. His prayers on our behalf are always timely, always on target, always perfect…for He only prays according to God’s will.
Isaiah 65:1 ” I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me.”
We all have someone in our lives that we’ve been praying for…some for a very long time, that they would come to the Lord, or return back to relationship with Him. This Scripture should give you unbelievable hope, for it says that the Lord will actually make Himself known and disclose His Glory to them who have not even asked or sought after Him. He will establish Himself in those who haven’t even pursed Him. The Lord says “everyone who is called by My Name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.” Everyone is just that…everyone, so don’t be discouraged when you think your prayers aren’t being answered…God can move and orchestrate in people’s lives far beyond what we can imagine or see. He’s at work at this very moment manifesting Himself to them as only He can do.
Safetypinlove 