prayer

God’s Word Is Pure

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Psalm 12:6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Yesterday I listened to a message on how prayer is to be our priority 

He said, “Prayer is the breath of dependence.”

He talked about the Welch revival. A group of folks were praying. A young deacon read Psalm 24

Then asked the Lord. “Are my hands clean? Are my thoughts pure?”

Our thought life is purified when we bring God’s pure word into our hearts

David wrote Psalm 26. Verse 2 is a prayer of dependence we can use. There is only One who knows the source of our thoughts 

It says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” 

Prove means to test. Try means to refine. Our trials are designed to expose the hidden dross that will weaken our faith. 1 Peter 1:7

God’s Mercy ~ Part One

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I was memorizing Psalm 145:9. It says, “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” I started to think about mercy. Psalm 103:10 says that mercy is not getting what we deserve.

Since God is merciful, that is a character quality He desires us to emulate. Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.”

The Holy Spirit brought these two words to mind ~ recalcitrant child. I had to look it up to know what it meant and how to spell it. Recalcitrant means: obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline.

Even in our attitude we are to represent Jesus. Our thoughts come from our heart. They precede all actions, which also display our attitude through our demeanor. The Lord knows when our heart is recalcitrant, and yet He is merciful because that is His nature.

Out Of The Dust~Part Two

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Psalm 40:2 says, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” There is a hymn. In part it says, “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.”

The Lord is our Rescuer. I have a friend that was just rescued through amazing God-orchestrated circumstances. His testimony could be as Psalm 116. Verse 8-9 says, “For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”

I am memorizing Psalm 116. Verse 5 says, “Gracious is the Lord and righteous; yes, our God is merciful.” God’s mercy endures forever. Psalm 136.

The Power Of Crying Out~Part Two

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We cry out because we have One who always hears. Psalm 16:6 says, “I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God…” Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

In Psalm 55:17, David wrote, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” Psalm 18:6 says, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”

I love these verses. Crying out comes from a heart that knows unless the Lord intervenes, there is no hope. Psalm 61:1 says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You…” Are you in desperate straits? Cry out! We demonstrate where our trust is when we cry out.

Quench Versus Embrace ~ Part One

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1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” The Greek word for quench is to suppress, extinguish, or to thwart. Think of snuffing out a burning candle. God often uses His Holy Spirit like a refiner’s fire to reveal hidden dross in our faith.

Authentic followers of Jesus are characterized as following the Holy Spirit’s lead. Romans 8:13 says that if we live by the Spirit, we will put to death the fleshly deeds of our body.

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” Then Paul listed fleshly ways that we might grieve Him: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and malice. 

Galatians 5:16 says, “…Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We are either walking in the Spirit or in the flesh. When we choose to turn away from the Holy Spirit’s leading, He will resist or oppose us.

God Watches Our Hearts~Part Two

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Harboring an offense in our hearts makes us a stumbling block for others. How? I think Ecclesiastes 10:1 is a perfect answer. It says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.”

We hurt and offend others when we attack them through our reactionary flesh. We say things that ought not to be said. We act in a way that does not exemplify the Lord. If you want to know what is hidden in your heart ~ ask the Lord to reveal it. He loves that prayer and is faithful to fulfill it.

Caution. The hidden offense will emerge in a very unexpected time. Proverbs 4:23. We won’t even know it happened until it displays itself. It is that quick. Not premeditated, but triggered in a moment because of something that was said, we were slighted, or our goal was blocked.

Praying With Joy ~ Part One

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I began my journey to meditate through Philippians. The Holy Spirit arrested me at verse four. It says, “Always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” This is why I love meditating through a book. He shows me things that were hidden before in my reading.

Let me ask you: do you pray with joy for the ones you pray for? I haven’t. I’m usually so intent on presenting others to the Lord with their dire needs. I went back to Acts 16:6-10. Paul and his team had intentions to go preach the  gospel in Asia. Forbidden. They tried to go to Bithynia. Not permitted.

Then, in a vision, Paul received the Macedonian call. You can read what happened in verses 11-15. As I looked at the map in the back of my Bible, Philippi was way at the tip of his journey. The time was dated as AD 49-52.

Praying In The Spirit ~ Part Three

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Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought…” That is why we need to be attentive to the Holy Spirit’s leading as we pray.

Part of spiritual warfare is standing in the gap as stated in Ezekiel 22:30. The enemy looks for ways to break through against us. Isaiah 7:6 says, “…let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them…” In context this was written about Judah, but we can apply it personally.

In Galatians 6:1 Paul wrote that we are to restore one caught in sin, “…in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” We don’t know when the person will be triggered to fall back into sin. The Holy Spirit does and He can alert us to pray in the moment of the need. Our part is to be attentive to His leading.

Praying In The Spirit ~ Part Two

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Habakkuk is a great example for us to journal. I’ve been journaling since December 1976. I use a blank journal. I love to circle, underline, or square parts of verses and insights the Holy Spirit gives me. I write the key word or topic in the side margin. It is like a workbook. All my writings come from those insights.

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Revelational insight is His strategic tool for effective spiritual warfare. Insight that is inaccessible except through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:10 Amplified says that the Holy Spirit, “…searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny).”

The Holy Spirit will often put words in my mouth as I am praying for someone ~ words of wisdom, phrases of Scripture, or encouragement to share.