'We Ought to Pray' Even when we have no desire to pray

'The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. Such perfunctory, formal praying, with no heart, no feeling, no real desire accompanying it, is to be shunned like a pestilence. Its exercise is a waste of precious time, and from it, no real blessing accrues.

And yet even if it be discovered that desire is honestly absent, we should pray, anyway.

We ought to pray.

The "ought" comes in, in order that both desire and expression be cultivated. God's Word commands it. Our judgment tells us we ought to pray -- to pray whether we feel like it or not -- and not to allow our feelings to determine our habits of prayer. In such circumstance, we ought to pray for the desire to pray; for such a desire is God-given and heaven-born. We should pray for desire; then, when desire has been given, we should pray according to its dictates. Lack of spiritual desire should grieve us, and lead us to lament its absence, to seek earnestly for its bestowal, so that our praying, henceforth, should be an expression of "the soul's sincere desire."

A sense of need creates or should create, earnest desire. The stronger the sense of need,
before God, the greater should be the desire, the more earnest the praying. The "poor in
spirit" are eminently competent to pray.

Hunger is an active sense of physical need. It prompts the request for bread. In like manner, the inward consciousness of spiritual need creates desire, and desire breaks forth in prayer. Desire is an inward longing for something of which we are not possessed, of which we stand in need -- something which God has promised, and which may be secured by an earnest supplication of His throne of grace.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 13)

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Truly our adversary, the devil, will do all he can to keep us from praying! The belief that we must feel like praying to pray is one of those tricks he uses to keep us from communicating with our Father God.  The knowledge that we should pray regardless of our feelings is what we need embedded in us.  We most definitely shouldn't wait till we are trouble to turn to God in prayer, yet that's exactly what a lot of people do. Waiting until they have a need for help, not realizing that we have a desperate need of prayer daily. We need daily spiritual bread as well as daily physical bread.  Only one of those two things are within our power of enacting. We cannot always supply daily physical bread but we can daily supply spiritual bread because that spiritual bread is just a prayer away from us. We can open the lines of communication in our happiest and our most desperate of hours. There is never a time we are forbidden to pray because prayer is so incredibly important and special. We can pray in complete silence without anyone knowing, or we can choose to be outspoken and loud in our prayer.  If we choose to be outspoken and loud we may be asked to stop, but even if we do stop the noise of our prayer, inwardly no one can stop us from praying - not a single person. Spiritual sustenance is extremely necessary. We no more can keep living without physical food than we can keep spiritually alive without prayer.

Here, E.M. Bounds speaks of desire and lack of desire in prayer. When our hearts are sometimes at their lowest point and life has tormented us with it's evils, the slicing arrows of satan cutting us to the quick, the poison tipped barbs infuse us with a desire to turn from God, not towards Him, it is then we need to take that lack of desire to pray and pray even harder!

We will not be left to a life filled with wondrous and constant joy despite life's hardships, not if Satan has anything to say about it, and truly...not if God has anything to do with it as well.  We are being refined! Our patience is being perfected! These awful trials and tribulations are ripping our hearts out and wringing the evil from them by the grace of our GOD.  Satan would turn that grace into disease, wanting us to shun it at all cost, but our God is greater than the evil one!

Please, LORD, please SAVIOR, please HEAVENLY FATHER live in us and us in You!  We need You more than anything else! We need YOU!

Job was tortured physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually tortured as Satan tried his best to rip him from God's love.  All by God's grace that wasn't possible! Please, LORD, keep us in YOU, in YOUR grace no matter what. We don't want pain and heartache, we don't want to be tortured in any way at all, our desire is to be kept in YOU free from all that, but we know that this world is filled with pain and heartache that You cannot keep us from, but You can keep us from EVIL that would destroy us by wresting us permanently from You! Please, we pray the desperate prayer to be kept from EVIL! Deliver us, LORD, deliver us from evil, lead us not into temptation, not into despair!  You have the POWER, You have the GLORY, Yours is the KINGDOM forever and ever.  All in YOU in YOUR grace, YOUR mercy, YOUR love… we PRAY.

Prayer- Hope, Trust

'Do we believe, without a doubt? When we pray, do we believe, not that we shall receive
the things for which we ask on a future day, but that we receive them, then and there?

Such is the teaching of this inspiring Scripture. How we need to pray, "Lord, increase our faith," until doubt be gone, and implicit trust claims the promised blessings, as its very own.

This is no easy condition.

 It is reached only after many a failure, after much praying, after many waitings, after much trial of faith.

May our faith so increase until we realize and receive all the fulness there is in that Name which guarantees to do so much.

Our Lord puts trust as the very foundation of praying.

The background of prayer is trust.

The whole issuance of Christ's ministry and work was dependent on implicit trust
in His Father.

The centre of trust is God.

Mountains of difficulties, and all other hindrances to prayer are moved out of the way by trust and his virile henchman, faith.

When trust is perfect and without doubt, prayer is simply the outstretched hand, ready
to receive. Trust perfected, is prayer perfected. Trust looks to receive the thing asked for
-- and gets it. Trust is not a belief that God can bless, that He will bless, but that He does
bless, here and now.

Trust always operates in the present tense.

Hope looks toward the future. Trust looks to the present.

Hope expects. Trust possesses.

Trust receives what prayer acquires. So that what prayer needs, at all times, is abiding and abundant trust.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 12)
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Is this truth?

Maybe I've spent so much time hoping I've forgotten about trust.  Am I so timid in my faith I just stop at hope?  Do my own doubts rear up their ugly little heads so that I'm not able to trust fully? I don't want to believe that it could be true, I want to trust. I want to ask and trust. But… see, there's one of those doubts already. The 'but' says all too loudly, 'What happens if you trust and it doesn't come to pass? Doesn't hope leave room for a little doubt so that there's wiggle room to pacify self by saying, 'I hoped but I knew it could go either way.'  Trust on the other hand doesn't say at all that it could go either way, I WILL get what I prayed for beyond doubt.  Do we truly believe we get what we pray for WHEN we pray for it, or are our prayers always geared towards a future response?  The … 'I'll pray for you.'  That's a promise for a future prayer for someone that might need prayer right then and there.  We pray for someone and we continue to pray for them asking God over and over to grant their petition- all the while not believing the very first time we asked for that particular petition that it was answered.  We don't believe because results aren't immediate in our understanding. That job we pray for that never seems to come, is it God not hearing so we keep praying?

What about this parable of our Savior's...

Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

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We ought to always pray- NOT FAINT.

God will avenge His own elect… THOSE crying to Him DAY and NIGHT, THOSE He bears long with!

We must keep praying with hope not lamenting our lack of the described trust above because we must cry day and night for our Savior to Save us, even as we know He is willing to save us. We must keep praying for His return, though we KNOW He will return.   We must keep praying because WE BELIEVE, and we need His bearing long with us, helping our unbelief!

That job, that healing, that helping all that left in God's hands to provide as He sees fit IS an ANSWERED prayer if we are praying for HIS WILL BE DONE.  We WANT HIS WILL, and He who sees the end from the beginning knows what is best, this is what we must TRUST, not that we will see the immediate results we DESIRE! This isn't about our desire, or at least it isn't supposed to be about what we want. Our desire must be HIS WILL and this we can trust in! His Will Be Done!

Let us TRUST in HIS WILL, believing when we pray all our prayers are answered according to HIS will, not our fleshy, finite, limited, lowly manner of comprehension of how we think things would be best- how can we ever truly know.  We have our hopes and a lot of them are based in selfishness, not God.  We must HOPE IN GOD, we must TRUST IN GOD!

IN HIS LOVE!

'An earth-bound, earth-satisfied spirit cannot pray'

'Great incentives to pray are furnished in Holy Scriptures, and our Lord closes His teaching about prayer, with the assurance and promise of heaven. The presence of Jesus Christ in heaven, the preparation for His saints which He is making there, and the assurance that He will come again to receive them -- how all this helps the weariness of praying, strengthens its conflicts, sweetens its arduous toil! These things are the star of hope to prayer, the wiping away of its tears, the putting of the odour of heaven into the bitterness of its cry. The spirit of a pilgrim greatly facilitates praying. An earth-bound, earth-satisfied spirit cannot pray. In such a heart, the flame of spiritual desire is either gone out or smouldering in faintest glow. The wings of its faith are clipped, its eyes are filmed, its tongue silenced. But they, who in unswerving faith and unceasing prayer, wait continually upon the Lord, do renew their strength, do mount up with wings as eagles, do run, and are not weary, do walk, and not faint.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 12)

Mat 6:13  ...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The kingdom.

We live for the same kingdom our Savior lived and died for.  We pray for the same kingdom our Savior prayed for.

'The spirit of a pilgrim  greatly facilitates praying.'   How amazingly true!  If we aren't convinced that we are but pilgrims here, if we don't LIVE as if we are pilgrims here, that this is just a temporary existence as we journey towards the kingdom , then we are not living as our Savior lived. This was not His world-  read the following -

Joh_8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Jesus said- 'I AM NOT OF THIS WORLD.'

Joh_12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

The prince of this world is SATAN.

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Jesus said- 'My kingdom is NOT of this world.'

2Co_4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Satan BLINDS the minds of those who refuse to believe in our SAVIOR.

We live in a world whose ruler is trying desperately to blind us to truth! We live in a world that is NOT our final home! We are striving for the KINGDOM to come, not this world! Why do we forget this and get all caught up in the angst and evils of this world? Satan uses everything at his disposal to tempt us to leave our SAVIOR. Satan does NOT want us to be in the kingdom that is to come and he will stop at NOTHING to keep us focused on this world!

Are we focused on this world? If we are caught up in any turmoil of any sort right not there is a good possibility that we are focusing on here and now and NOT on the KINGDOM to COME.

'An earth-bound, earth-satisfied spirit cannot pray. In such a heart, the flame of spiritual desire is either gone out or smouldering in faintest glow. The wings of its faith are clipped, its eyes are filmed, its tongue silenced.'

Truth.  If we want this to be our only home, if we are satisfied with this world being our only home then truly we cannot pray. How can we?  Our hope is in HEAVEN with our SAVIOR and if it's not we are praying AMISS! We don't want our wings of faith clipped, we don't want our eyes covered in film, we do not wish our tongue silent. Please LORD and SAVIOR, please let us live for YOU and YOUR kingdom and EVERY TIME we pray let us comprehend this!

Please LORD, we would be YOURS in all things in all ways! Help us! This world's ruler would lead us into all evil and we pray that YOU keep us from all evil!

In YOUR LOVE, YOUR GRACE!

No Doubting

1Ti_2:8  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Doubting is always put under the ban, because it stands as a foe to faith and hinders effectual praying. In the First Epistle to Timothy Paul gives us an invaluable truth relative to the conditions of successful praying, which he thus lays down: "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."

All questioning must be watched against and eschewed. Fear and peradventure have no
place in true praying. Faith must assert itself and bid these foes to prayer depart. Too much authority cannot be attributed to faith; but prayer is the sceptre by which it signalizes its power. How much of spiritual wisdom there is in the following advice written by an eminent old divine.

"Would you be freed from the bondage to corruption?" he asks. "Would you grow in grace in general and grow in grace in particular? If you would, your way is plain. Ask of God more faith. Beg of Him morning, and noon and night, while you walk by the way, while you sit in the house, when you lie down and when you rise up; beg of Him simply to impress Divine things more deeply on your heart, to give you more and more of the substance of things hoped for and of the evidence of things not seen."

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 11)

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No doubting.  We talked yesterday, and several times about not doubting and how we are prone to doubt. We have to guard against the things we are prone towards. We must seek forgiveness for our failings not simply blow them off as if they don't matter. We can never say, 'Oh well, that's it, I'm only human.'  It's true we are only human, but we must lament our failings, we must lament our shortcomings not excuse them. We must seek forgiveness for our sins, not excuse them. Doubting must be lamented, doubting, lack of faith- doubting is a faith destroyer if allowed to flourish without check, without seeking forgiveness.

Paul says that HE wills therefore that men PRAY EVERYWHERE, lifting up holy hands, without wrath...WITHOUT DOUBTING.

Pray everywhere...and yes, pray without doubting. If we pray without doubting we are praying with FAITH, with BELIEVING.

The person quoted above asked--   'Would you be freed from the bondage to corruption?'

We all would answer, 'Yes.' wouldn't we?  We don't want to be captive to corruption.  We would GROW in GRACE in anyway we possible can. We need to ASK for MORE FAITH from GOD, remember faith can increase.   We need to BEG morning, noon, and night! Sitting, laying, rising we must BEG to have our GOD impressed upon our HEARTS, to give us MORE FAITH- which we are told -- '...is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Heb.11:1

We need MORE FAITH in our GOD.  We need more faith...please LORD, please...more faith, all by YOUR grace!

In YOUR LOVE!

Ask in Faith

'Faith starts prayer to work -- clears the way to the mercy-seat. It gives assurance, first of

all, that there is a mercy-seat, and that there the High Priest awaits the pray-ers and the

prayers. Faith opens the way for prayer to approach God. But it does more. It

accompanies prayer at every step she takes. It is her inseparable companion and when

requests are made unto God, it is faith which turns the asking into obtaining. And faith

follows prayer, since the spiritual life into which a believer is led by prayer, is a life of

faith. The one prominent characteristic of the experience into which believers are

brought through prayer, is not a life of works, but of faith.

Faith makes prayer strong, and gives it patience to wait on God. Faith believes that God

is a rewarder. No truth is more clearly revealed in the Scriptures than this, while none is

more encouraging. Even the closet has its promised reward, "He that seeth in secret,

shall reward thee openly," while the most insignificant service rendered to a disciple in

the name of the Lord, surely receives its reward. And to this precious truth faith gives

its hearty assent.

Yet faith is narrowed down to one particular thing -- it does not believe that God will

reward everybody, nor that He is a rewarder of all who pray, but that He is a rewarder

of them that diligently seek Him. Faith rests its care on diligence in prayer, and gives

assurance and encouragement to diligent seekers after God, for it is they, alone, who are

richly rewarded when they pray.

We need constantly to be reminded that faith is the one inseparable condition of

successful praying.

There are other considerations entering into the exercise, but faith is the final, the one indispensable condition of true praying.

As it is written in a familiar, primary declaration: "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him."

James puts this truth very plainly. "If any of you lack wisdom," he says, "let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and  upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth (or doubteth) is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 10)

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My thoughts-

Once more we have to look at this verse--

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Jesus had asked the man if he believed.   Jesus was asking if the man had faith in Him. The man cried out with tears- 'Lord, I believe!'   But he didn't stop there. This man recognized that he was but a mere man, a man given to doubt, given to unbelief so he cried out… 'HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF.'   If his belief was completely unwavering, he'd have no need to ask the Savior to help his unbelief. He did believe, but he wanted help for any lack he might have in his faith.  We need this help as well.  We don't want to be tossed about like a wave at sea, we want to believe that we will receive all that we ask in FAITH.  We must believe. We have to believe. And we need the help of our beloved Savior to take any unbelief we have and help us in our weakness.

Please, Lord, we know that our prayers must come by faith and without faith it truly is impossible to please You because we must believe that You are!

Help us, give us wisdom, give us faith, give us all we need to be YOURS. We would belong to YOU.

By YOUR GRACE and LOVE!

Before Prayer There Is Faith

'We catch a glimpse of the tremendous importance of faith and of the great value God has set upon it, when we remember that He has made it the one indispensable condition of being saved. "By GRACE are ye saved, THROUGH FAITH." Thus, when we contemplate the great importance of prayer, we find faith standing immediately by its side. By faith are we saved, and by faith we stay saved. Prayer introduces us to a life of faith. Paul declared that the life he lived, he lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him -- that he walked by faith and not by sight.

PRAYER IS ABSOLUTELY DEPENDENT UPON FAITH. VIRTUALLY, IT HAS NO EXISTENCE APART FROM IT AND ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING UNLESS IT BE ITS INSEPARABLE COMPANION. FAITH MAKES PRAYER EFFECTUAL AND IN A CERTAIN IMPORTANT SENSE, MUST PRECEDE IT.

"For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its petition is preferred, before its requests are made known -- FAITH MUST HAVE GONE ON AHEAD; must have asserted its belief in the existence of God; must have given its assent to the gracious truth that "God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek His face." This is the primary step in praying. In this regard, while faith does not bring the blessing, yet it puts prayer in a position to ask for it, and leads to another step toward realization, by aiding the petitioner to believe that God is able and willing to bless.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 9)

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(Eph_2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Gal_2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

2Co 5:7  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

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'Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its petition is preferred, before its requests are made known -- FAITH MUST HAVE GONE ON AHEAD…'

Faith must have gone on ahead before we even begin to pray. We can only pray if we have faith. 

True, a prayer can be made to someone other than God, the TRUE GOD, the Heavenly Father, but the one praying is praying to someone, this is what prayer is.  Prayer is seeking intercession from another. Some people seek intercession from false gods, those people are putting their faith in a false god.  They have faith, just not in the Heavenly Father. We MUST have FAITH first in order to begin to pray.  WE DO believe in the Heavenly Father, and therefore our faith, our belief is in our Heavenly Father.  We petition our Heavenly Father, through FAITH. Prayer and faith go hand in hand.  FAITH MUST HAVE GONE ON AHEAD.

By the GRACE of our GOD, through HIS LOVE ALWAYS!

Faith Grows

'Faith grows by reading and meditating upon the Word of God. Most, and best of all,
faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 8)

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Faith growing, don't we all want our faith to grow?  We should. IF our faith isn't growing then it's stagnating, and if our faith is stagnating then it's in danger because we know when something stagnates that isn't supposed to stagnate it's contaminated, not healthy. We need our faith to grow.

Mat_6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

LITTLE FAITH.

Mat_8:10  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

GREAT FAITH.

Faith can grow.

If we READ God's word, if we take time to STUDY God's word, if we PRAY about God's word we are actively involved in our Spiritual life.  Our Spirit life and not our flesh life gives us FAITH, a growing faith.  We have to feed our faith with Spirit food.

Please Lord, help us.

Help us feed our spiritual life, with YOUR spiritual food, so our FAITH will grow in YOU.  We don't want our faith to die. Please LORD we would be like the great people of faith mentioned in Your word, please bless us and help us live towards this end solely dependent upon YOU for all things! Guide us, help us, save us!

All in YOUR LOVE!

Thank You, LORD, thank You!

Every Thing By Prayer

Heb 11:1  Now FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3  Through  FAITH we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Heb 11:4  By  FAITH Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Heb 11:5  By  FAITH Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Heb 11:6  But without  FAITH it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Heb 11:7  By  FAITH Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by  FAITH.
Heb 11:8  By  FAITH Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9  By  FAITH he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Heb 11:11  Through  FAITH also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Heb 11:12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Heb 11:13  These all died in  FAITH, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:15  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Heb 11:17  By FAITH Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Heb 11:18  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19  Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Heb 11:20  By  FAITH Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Heb 11:21  By  FAITH Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
Heb 11:22  By  FAITH Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Heb 11:23  By  FAITH Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
Heb 11:24  By  FAITH Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27  By  FAITH he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28  Through  FAITH he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Heb 11:29  By  FAITH they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Heb 11:30  By  FAITH the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Heb 11:31  By  FAITH the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33  Who through  FAITH subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through  FAITH, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

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'It is not the intellectually great that the Church needs; nor is it men of wealth
that the times demand. It is not people of great social influence that this day requires.
Above everybody and everything else, it is men of faith, men of mighty prayer, men
and women after the fashion of the saints and heroes enumerated in Hebrews, who
"obtained a good report through faith," that the Church and the whole wide world of
humanity needs.'

'Today, as much as at any time, we need men of great faith and men
who are great in prayer. These are the two cardinal virtues which make men great in the
eyes of God, the two things which create conditions of real spiritual success in the life
and work of the Church. It is our chief concern to see that we maintain a faith of such
quality and texture, as counts before God; which grasps, and holds in its keeping, the
things for which it asks, without doubt and without fear'

'Doubt and fear are the twin foes of faith. Sometimes, they actually usurp the place of
faith, and although we pray, it is a restless, disquieted prayer that we offer, uneasy and
often complaining. Peter failed to walk on Gennesaret because he permitted the waves
to break over him and swamp the power of his faith. Taking his eyes from the Lord and
regarding the water all about him, he began to sink and had to cry for succour -- "Lord,
save, or I perish!"

Doubts should never be cherished, nor fears harboured. Let none cherish the delusion
that he is a martyr to fear and doubt. It is no credit to any man's mental capacity to
cherish doubt of God, and no comfort can possibly derive from such a thought. OUR EYES SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF SELF, REMOVED FROM OUR OWN WEAKNESS AND ALLOWED TO REST  IMPLICITLY UPON GOD'S STRENGTH. "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward." A simple, confiding faith, living day by day, and casting
its burden on the Lord, each hour of the day, will dissipate fear, drive away misgiving
and deliver from doubt:

"Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by supplication and prayer, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."

That is the Divine cure for all fear, anxiety, and undue concern of soul, all of which are
closely akin to doubt and unbelief. This is the Divine prescription for securing the peace
which passeth all understanding, and keeps the heart and mind in quietness and peace.
All of us need to mark well and heed the caution given in Hebrews: "Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
living God."

We need, also, to guard against unbelief as we would against an enemy. Faith needs to
be cultivated. We need to keep on praying, "Lord, increase our faith," for faith is
susceptible of increase. Paul's tribute to the Thessalonians was, that their faith grew
exceedingly. Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is nourished by sore
trials.

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and
glow at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

Faith grows by reading and meditating upon the Word of God. Most, and best of all,
faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 7)
*******

My thoughts-

Luk 17:5  And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

2Th 1:1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:2  Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 1:3  We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that YOUR FAITH GROWETH EXCEEDINGLY, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your PATIENCE AND FAITH in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
2Th 1:6  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
2Th 1:11  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the WORK OF FAITH WITH POWER:
2Th 1:12  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is true, our faith can GROW.

Patience and faith in ALL our PERSECUTIONS and TRIBULATIONS that we endure.

Patience- comprehending that we can't expect any immediate reward whatsoever, that our faith in Jesus is not based on receiving earthly rewards for our belief. Knowing that suffering here and now is our expectation!

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

We can and must pray always, believing in our God, in our Savior, in the future He came to earth and died to offer to us.  We pray with the comprehension that our lot here and now is to be a trial of our faith. All the men and women of God endured great trials, so why do we imagine that we should not have to do the same. One trial after another the apostles endured until they finally went to their long sleep in death. Most of the apostles suffered horrific deaths. Do we imagine they desired to suffer and eventually die at the hands of others? They didn't want that any more than any of us  want to suffer and be murdered in awful ways. They endured it because they had faith in our Savior, faith that anything they were called to endure on this earth was but a temporary situation, whereas our Savior offered eternity in HIS glory! They believed this so strongly they were able to meet every bit of suffering knowing their eventual outcome would be more than worth ANYTHING and EVERYTHING they suffered.

The reality is our faith in Jesus must grow, must constantly be tested. This is the reality we live in. We can't expect to EVER get to a place where suffering won't have to be endured, not here, not now.

'OUR EYES SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF SELF, REMOVED FROM OUR OWN WEAKNESS AND ALLOWED TO REST  IMPLICITLY UPON GOD'S STRENGTH.'

TRUTH!

Php_4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

BUT IN EVERYTHING… EVERYTHING…  E V E R Y T H I N G… by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our request be made known unto GOD.

Is it any wonder we are told to pray without ceasing, for we are to ever have God before us in all things!

All by HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE, HIS MERCY, may our FAITH increase, praying always, in everything praying.

'Faith is not an aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His promises.'

'Faith is not an abstract belief in the Word of God, nor a mere mental credence, nor a
simple assent of the understanding and will; nor is it a passive acceptance of facts,
however sacred or thorough.

Faith is an operation of God, a Divine illumination, a holy energy implanted by the Word of God and the Spirit in the human soul -- a spiritual, Divine principle which takes of the Supernatural and makes it a thing apprehendable by the faculties of time and sense.

Faith deals with God, and is conscious of God.

It deals with the Lord Jesus Christ and sees in Him a Saviour; it deals with God's Word, and lays hold of the truth; it deals with the Spirit of God, and is energized and inspired by its holy fire.

God is the great objective of faith; for faith rests its whole weight on His Word.

Faith is not an aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His promises.

Just as love and hope have always an objective so, also, has faith. Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in Him, trusting His Word.

Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deeper, rises higher, in the
struggles and wrestlings of mighty petitioning.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints.

Faith, too, is humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees, or lie in the dust. It is the one great condition of prayer; the LACK of it lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered praying.'

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 6)

*******

TRUTH!

Faith is REAL.

FAITH is ACTIVE.

It is BY FAITH we please God!

Heb_11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

TRUTH!

We must BELIEVE that HE IS!
We must BELIEVE that HE REWARDS those who DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM.

You don't diligently seek anything if you don't believe in it!  What person would diligently search for something they didn't believe existed? How preposterous it would be for someone to NOT believe in the very thing they are seeking desperately.  What a colossal waste of time to search for something you don't believe is really there.  However, if you believe something of great price is to be found, you search like you've never searched before, don't you?

We must believe our GOD rewards us for diligently searching for Him, for believing in Him! This is FAITH!

Truly our prayers only have any worth at all based solely upon the One we pray to and not our own feebleness. It is God's righteousness, and HIS amazing mercy that is truth.

If we pray without believing we are speaking to only hear ourselves.

Mar 12:38  And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
Mar 12:39  And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
Mar 12:40  Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Jesus said to BEWARE of those who for a pretence make long prayers.

He didn't say that because long prayers are wrong, but long prayers spoken to appear godly are very wrong, they are prayers without any faith in God. Any prayers spoken without faith is worthy of damnation.  WE must pray as the man seeking mercy and healing for his son…

Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

LORD, WE BELIEVE; HELP THOU OUR UNBELIEF!

This is our desperate cry as we pray, knowing we believe and not wanting any lack of our own faith to stop us from believing still!

All in the LOVE of our SAVIOR!

'What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them...'

"The guests at a certain hotel were being rendered uncomfortable by repeated
strumming on a piano, done by a little girl who possessed no knowledge of music.
They complained to the proprietor with a view to having the annoyance stopped.
'I am sorry you are annoyed,' he said. 'But the girl is the child of one of my very
best guests. I can scarcely ask her not to touch the piano. But her father, who is
away for a day or so, will return tomorrow. You can then approach him, and have
the matter set right.' When the father returned, he found his daughter in the
reception-room and, as usual, thumping on the piano. He walked up behind the
child and, putting his arms over her shoulders, took her hands in his, and
produced some most beautiful music. Thus it may be with us, and thus it will be,
some coming day. Just now, we can produce little but clamour and disharmony;
but, one day, the Lord Jesus will take hold of our hands of faith and prayer, and
use them to bring forth the music of the skies." -- ANON

'GENUINE, authentic faith must be definite and free of doubt. Not simply general in
character; not a mere belief in the being, goodness and power of God, but a faith which
believes that the things which "he saith, shall come to pass." As the faith is specific, so
the answer likewise will be definite: "He shall have whatsoever he saith." Faith and
prayer select the things, and God commits Himself to do the very things which faith
and persevering prayer nominate, and petition Him to accomplish.

The American Revised Version renders the twenty-fourth verse of the eleventh chapter
of Mark, thus: "Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Perfect faith has always in its
keeping what perfect prayer asks for. How large and unqualified is the area of
operation -- the "All things whatsoever!" How definite and specific the promise -- "Ye
shall have them!"

Our chief concern is with our faith, -- the problems of its growth, and the activities of its
vigorous maturity.

A faith which grasps and holds in its keeping the very things it asks for, without wavering, doubt or fear -- that is the faith we need -- faith, such as is a pearl of great price, in the process and practise of prayer.

Mat_13:46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

The statement of our Lord about faith and prayer quoted above is of supreme
importance. Faith must be definite, specific; an unqualified, unmistakable request for
the things asked for. It is not to be a vague, indefinite, shadowy thing; it must be
something more than an abstract belief in God's willingness and ability to do for us. It is
to be a definite, specific, asking for, and expecting the things for which we ask. Note the
reading of Mark 11:23:

"And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he saith." '

Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 5)

*******

Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Faith and prayer.


Hand in hand the two go and we need to believe this.

If we pray to a LIVING, LOVING GOD, then we truly believe our GOD, our FATHER GOD hears us, and loves us, and desires that we live in HIS love.  Any parent knows, and any child can comprehend the truth- that loving human parents do their best to do all things for their children's best interests. A truly loving human parent would never deliberately do something to harm their children unless it was a mistake, an accident, something that happened in ignorance through flesh ruled faults. God, our Heavenly Father will NEVER do anything, He will never answer a single prayer that is detrimental to OUR ETERNAL LIFE.

When we ask for anything in FAITH in our loving Heavenly FATHER, we are asking for HIS WILL for us be done, His love, His knowing, His caring, His desire for us to have salvation through HIS Son.  When we ask amiss, we are asking for things not in the faith of our Father, not in trusting His will for us.  If we ask specifically for the saving of a life and that life is not saved, there is a reason for it that goes beyond our desire for that person's life to be spared so they can live longer.

We must pray in specifics knowing that what we ask for in FAITH means asking in the belief of our Savior's desire for us to be found in Him, in His Salvation, be realized truly. The mountain will be moved if it needs to be moved and this we believe because our faith is solely in our SAVIOR, in our GOD.

All in His LOVE!

Take no thought for the morrow

Isa_26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS (Excerpt 4)

'When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are, in a measure, shutting
tomorrow out of our prayer. We do not live in tomorrow but in today. We do not seek
tomorrow's grace or tomorrow's bread. They thrive best, and get most out of life, who
live in the living present. They pray best who pray for today's needs, not for
tomorrow's, which may render our prayers unnecessary and redundant by not existing
at all!

True prayers are born of present trials and present needs. Bread, for today, is bread
enough. Bread given for today is the strongest sort of pledge that there will be bread
tomorrow. Victory today, is the assurance of victory tomorrow. Our prayers need to be
focused upon the present, We must trust God today, and leave the morrow entirely
with Him. The present is ours; the future belongs to God. Prayer is the task and duty of
each recurring day -- daily prayer for daily needs.

As every day demands its bread, so every day demands its prayer. No amount of
praying, done today, will suffice for tomorrow's praying. On the other hand, no praying
for tomorrow is of any great value to us today. To-day's manna is what we need;
tomorrow God will see that our needs are supplied. This is the faith which God seeks to
inspire. So leave tomorrow, with its cares, its needs, its troubles, in God's hands. There
is no storing tomorrow's grace or tomorrow's praying; neither is there any laying-up of
today's grace, to meet tomorrow's necessities. We cannot have tomorrow's grace, we
cannot eat tomorrow's bread, we cannot do tomorrow's praying. "Sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof;" and, most assuredly, if we possess faith, sufficient also, will be
the good.'

*******

Mat_6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Truth!

Jesus speaks ONLY truth!

So our doubting our Savior impedes our faith.  When He spoke the words -- 'Take therefore NO thought for the morrow…' -- did He mean what He said?  Did He mean it?! He had to mean it, He had to.  Take therefore NO thought…  how many thoughts? NONE, not a single one! No thought for the morrow, yet we can't help but think of the morrow all the time, right? Tell me how many time just today have you thought of not only the morrow but several morrows, weeks, months, years ahead. We tell ourselves that we have no choice but to think of the morrow, life forces us too and yes, it does in many ways but perhaps we need to think about tomorrow in the light of God's will and not our own.

All our prayers must be in light of God's will.

We truly cannot have tomorrow's grace now, and we cannot eat tomorrow's bread, and we cannot pray today the prayers meant for tomorrow.

We have to believe that we live now, pray now, trust now. The faith we have right now is a faith that believes in the reality of a very loving Savior, an all loving Savior. To live believing in our all loving Savior means that we KNOW, we BELIEVE that all that happens will be according to HIS plan for us.  Every single thing that happens is by HIS design. Do I mean that He designs for us to suffer? Yes, but the suffering is not senseless as we often believe. We can't comprehend the how's and why's and so we believe it's meaningless, it's pointless, and therefore all that remains is that it is cruel and we doubt God's love calling Him a cruel Master, an unloving Master. We say that a loving God would not allow this horrific suffering, this real torture, we say this because we cannot fathom the whys of it all. All we choose to comprehend is the awful pain, the agony emotional, mental, physical suffering. Our belief has to comprehend that our GOD knows why it is happening even when we don't and never learn why. God's design is for us to be HIS.  The pain and suffering isn't meant to drive us away from Him, but to move us ever closer to Him in FAITH, in His grace, HIS LOVE.

Our daily bread- spiritual and physical- we must PRAY daily. Every day we need this closeness with our SAVIOR, our LIVING, LOVING SAVIOR.

Yes, we must pray for the future, but live in today not allowing the anxiety of trying to live in the future overcome us.

Please, LORD, bless us, keep us in YOU! Teach us to live in today with YOU, believing in YOUR truth that we aren't to take thought for the morrow. All in YOUR LOVE!

Doubts Can Destroy Faith

THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS (Excerpt 3)

'Among the large and luminous utterances of Jesus concerning prayer, none is more
arresting than this:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall
he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it."  John 14:12,13

How wonderful are these statements of what God will do in answer to prayer! Of how
great importance these ringing words, prefaced, as they are, with the most solemn
verity! Faith in Christ is the basis of all working, and of all praying. All wonderful
works depend on wonderful praying, and all praying is done in the Name of Jesus
Christ. Amazing lesson, of wondrous simplicity, is this praying in the name of the Lord
Jesus! All other conditions are depreciated, everything else is renounced, save Jesus
only. The name of Christ -- the Person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ -- must be
supremely sovereign, in the hour and article of prayer.'

*******

We need to believe this is a reality, not a fiction.

JESUS says to us-

'HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME'  Believes!

Believes- Accepts As True!

Those of us who accept as true the existence, the reality, of our SAVIOR, the only Begotten Son of God, will belong to Him!

The WORKS that our SAVIOR performs we will do!
GREATER WORKS we will do- imagine that!  Why greater? Because our SAVIOR will be WITH the FATHER in His GLORY.

Whatever those of us who accept our Savior as a reality, as being TRUE, ask HIM in HIS NAME, HE WILL DO! And the Father will be glorified by this!

This is truly FAITH, full faith, real faith!  And all this ASKING of our SAVIOR is PRAYER!

Some will be quick to start a running list of all the things they've asked of God in the Savior's name and not had come to pass. To these I say- God answers ALL prayers but in HIS way, NOT OURS!  He answered that prayer when you asked for more money for something you truly need, something you suffered over because the money never came for it. His answer was to perhaps desiring your faith to grow, not lessen.  We allow doubt to replace faith all to often and as we talked about already, doubt can destroy faith.

Yes, God knows you wanted your loved one to keep living, but He also knew that it was best that the loved one begin their long sleep. He knew what was best and we don't have to understand it at all. When we believe we should be that understanding we are truly saying we should be God, because we know better than God, and that is wrong!

After the initial grief, the awful shock and sorrow we truly need to seek forgiveness for our presumptions and fall at the feet of our LOVING Savior and cling to Him, believing that truly all things will work together for good to us if we LOVE HIM.

Believing! Knowing He is TRUTH, that He is TRUE!

Comprehending all our doubt is Satan induced and Satan encouraged. Satan will feed our doubts about our SAVIOR because he knows doubt kills faith!

Please, SAVIOR help us to believe wholly in YOU! Keep us from the evil of doubt!

BY YOUR LOVE, BY YOUR GRACE!

Faith knows there are delays in answering prayers...

THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS (Excerpts)

"Faith in Christ's ability to do and to do greatly, is the faith which prays greatly."

Mat_9:28  And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

"It was to inspire faith in His ability to do that Jesus left behind Him, that last, great
statement, which, in the final analysis, is a ringing challenge to faith. "All power," He
declared, "is given unto Me in heaven and in earth."  (Mat_28:18)

"Yet faith is called upon, and that right often to wait in patience before God, and is
prepared for God's seeming delays in answering prayer. Faith does not grow
disheartened because prayer is not immediately honoured; it takes God at His Word,
and lets Him take what time He chooses in fulfilling His purposes, and in carrying on
His work. There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but
faith accepts the conditions -- knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and
regards such delays as times of testing, in the which, it is privileged to show its mettle,
and the stern stuff of which it is made."

*******
My thoughts-

Truly our doubting God is revealing a lack of faith. When things go bad in our lives we are always tempted to cry out- 'Why, God?! Why?' And that is a cry of despair, of questioning, of doubting.  People will quickly tell you it's fine to doubt God, and yet that doubt chips away at the faith we have. If we aren't careful the chips at our faith which we allow will eventually destroy all our faith.  It's not fine to doubt God. When we doubt we need to ask forgiveness for that doubting, not tell ourselves it's perfectly fine, perfectly normal. We will doubt, that's in our flesh nature, but our spirit nature counters that with the realization it is wrong to doubt. We must repent of our doubting and seek forgiveness. We must BELIEVE, we must have FAITH, and we must PRAY.  Some will find that while they are busy questioning God, and holding fast to their doubt that it becomes harder and harder to pray.

I've known people who have left a very rich prayer life because of their anger and doubt at God because their lives took a tragic turn. Would I do the same? It's very possible, I'm not trying to get the speck out of their eye while ignoring the beam in my own. I could very well react the same given the same circumstance and by God's grace alone, may I never be tested in such a way.

Prayer can strengthen our faith, and it's through faith we pray. We believe and so we pray, we doubt and our prayers suffer.

Bounds writes that, "There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions and knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing…"

This is truth.

We ask for things in prayers and all too often expect immediate replies because our request is for a situation requiring immediacy.  Yet, some things we asked for are not given because we ultimately pray for God's will to be done, meaning God who sees the end from the beginning knows how all things work together for good, we cannot know that. We can see Point A and how is might connect to Point B but we would find it hard to comprehend where Point X fits in when it is so many points away from Point A.

One person's tragedy could be another's blessing- we find this often in organ transplants. One person's faith rewarded while another is crushed.  I say crushed but what it really is being called to do is to be TESTED, not crushed. The test can be horrifically painful but we are to be tried and tested, we are called to endure much suffering, we were never told it would be painless. We are told it is endurable all through CHRIST, through believing that our Savior is.  

Yes, believing that our Savior is. That He exists and is able to do all that He's promised this is faith, this is prayer.

By YOUR grace LORD, by YOUR GRACE!

The Necessity of Prayer - Excerpt 1

The following is an excerpt from the book--

THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER  By E.M. BOUNDS

"Faith is the foundation of Christian character and the security of the soul. When Jesus
was looking forward to Peter's denial, and cautioning him against it, He said unto His
disciple:

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, to sift you as wheat; but I
have prayed for thee, that thy faith fall not."

Our Lord was declaring a central truth; it was Peter's FAITH He was seeking to guard; for
well He knew that when faith is broken down, the foundations of spiritual life give
way, and the entire structure of religious experience falls. It was Peter's faith which
needed guarding. Hence Christ's solicitude for the welfare of His disciple's soul and His
determination to fortify Peter's faith by His own all-prevailing prayer

In his Second Epistle, Peter has this idea in mind when speaking of growth in grace as a
measure of safety in the Christian life, and as implying fruitfulness.

"And besides this," he declares, "giving diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to
virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and
to patience godliness." (2 Pet 1:5,6)

Of this additioning process, faith was the starting-point -- the basis of the other graces of
the Spirit. Faith was the foundation on which other things were to be built. Peter does
not enjoin his readers to add to works or gifts or virtues but to faith. Much depends on
starting right in this business of growing in grace. There is a Divine order, of which
Peter was aware; and so he goes on to declare that we are to give diligence to making
our calling and election sure, which election is rendered certain adding to faith which,
in turn, is done by constant, earnest praying. Thus faith is kept alive by prayer, and
every step taken, in this adding of grace to grace, is accompanied by prayer.

*******

My thoughts-

Faith is truly kept living by praying.   Praying really is FAITH.  No one prays without faith, because to pray for no reason is really just talking to hear yourself speak, isn't it? To pray to our Savior, to pray to our Heavenly Father we are revealing faith in them. The faith that they and they alone have the power to hear us, to love us.  Praying is something Jesus taught us to do, praying is something our Savior did and very often, every single day.  If we pray any less are we revealing faith?  Our lives need God for all things, for every breath, for everything truly, everything.  We have to recognize our need of God in ALL our life as we surrender ourselves to Him knowing we are dependent upon Him. Praying reveals our understanding that we recognize our need.  Our God is our ALL in ALL.

Please, LORD, please help our FAITH be kept living through our praying. Help us as we undertake this study on prayer. Guide us into ONLY YOUR truth!

All through YOUR love!

Thank you, LORD!

Surrender

The following is an excerpt from a book I read. I don't necessarily believe in all the author believes, but the following really struck a chord with me.

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"There are some definite rules, moreover, for real Christian living.

First of all we must surrender our whole selves to God, both their conscious and the subconscious constituents. This takes time.

A very prominent professor in one of our seminaries confessed that after four hours of trying to find full surrender, a few spiritual leaders became very much discouraged. They were still not much different in their feelings and thoughts.

Total surrender takes at least a lifetime.

When our present self finds surrender, moreover, God lets us have ever larger selves to surrender!

Certainly Jesus had to keep surrendering to the end, through Gethsemane and Calvary.

The saints know that years of self-offering are involved.

As one area is won they have found that God lets us find another to be used for him.

Spiritual pain and sense of failure must be no source of worry, for guilt feelings always accompany the growing life.

When God declares present attainment inadequate His judgment makes us feel guilty about it; but how else could we ever keep growing?

Be concerned, rather, if you feel that your life has attained its fulfillment. Especially be concerned if you suspect that you are a saint.

Surrender is the hardest thing life offers and uses up all the time we have.

Surrender, however, is not negative but positive. We should, perhaps, instead of surrender, call it the constant acceptance of God's gracious will.

Surrender, however, is the opening of the door which God will not break down.

Surrender is our job.

Our surrender is made to God who gives us freely all things.

We surrender the narrow, shut-in self to find the wide-seeing and free self. We surrender the self that is feverishly and vainly set on its own way to find God's life satisfying way.

We surrender the self that nourishes its own hurts and prejudices to find the self of fellowship which rejoices in other people's joy and finds redemptive gladness in helping their hurts.

Surrender is the door, the abundant life beyond it is the heart of the Christian faith.

Surrender becomes cheap and evasive, nevertheless, when it is merely or mostly an emotional formula for feeling secure with God.

Real security does not come about that way, for God is no dispenser of comforts to pious prigs.

Surrender to God means genuineness of life, first of all.

It is self-acceptance. It is seeing oneself as one is, in need of being remade."

(Strengthening the Spiritual Life- by Nels F.S. Ferre. )

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Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

We need to be REMADE- we need to be BORN AGAIN.

We have to accept needing to be born again.

We have to realize that we truly do have a new life in Christ when we are born again.  And that surrendering ourselves DAILY to Christ is a way of life, of understanding that it is HIM remaking us.  Truly we must open the door that Christ knocks at. We must desire Him in our lives.

Surrender.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so WE SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12  LET NOT SIN THERFORE REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD YOURSELVES UNTO GOD, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Surrendering to Christ. Surrendering ourselves. And it's true that this surrendering takes a life time because day by day we surrender to our SAVIOR. Day by day we make the conscious choices of obedience or disobedience. We are born anew in Christ, through Christ and Christ alone we have hope of obedience, He gives us this hope that we can yield ourselves servants to HIS righteousness which is holiness.  We choose constantly, life is an unending series of choosing.  And surrendering to Christ is choosing Christ, choosing to obey, choosing to open the door so Christ may enter our lives. Choosing to accept the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.  Choosing to be remade by our Savior.

Truly we must surrender self, all by HIS GRACE! All in HIS LOVE!

Warning

Speaking of Paul it was written...

Act 20:18  And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
Act 20:19  Serving the Lord with all HUMILITY OF MIND, and with MANY TEARS, and TEMPTATIONS, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
Act 20:20  And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,
Act 20:21  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD, and FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Act 20:24  But NONE of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and  THE MINISTRY, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to TESTIFY THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD.

Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Act 20:32  And now, brethren, I C0MMEND YOU TO GOD and to THE WORD OF HIS GRACE WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP AND GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE AMONG ALL THEM WHICH ARE SANCTIFIED.

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We are to speak of-
'REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD, and FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.'

We are to speak of-
'THE MINISTRY, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to TESTIFY THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD.'

We are to-
'watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.'

We are commended--
'TO GOD and to THE WORD OF HIS GRACE WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP AND GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE AMONG ALL THEM WHICH ARE SANCTIFIED'

Do we really want to know how we are to live? We are to live TESTIFYING of the GOSPEL of the GRACE of GOD.  We must watch and remember-   all that we've been taught in God's word.  Paul WARNED every one...   WE ARE TO WARN OTHERS.   Seriously, what we have to give to others is a WARNING.  The warning being that we must repent of our sins, we must be baptised in water and spirit, and we must live with Jesus Christ as our SAVIOR right here, and right now.  We must comprehend that we can be sealed as GOD'S for a future inheritance. We can be sanctified, made holy and acceptable to God through our SAVIOR'S SACRIFICE.

How many people today grow up with the expectation of an inheritance from their parents?  I want to say many, but with the economy what it is and all it's probably a lot fewer than we'd imagine. But we all know of the idea of inheriting another's wealth whether that is in property (however small), goods (however few), or money (even spare change) left behind by the loved one who willed all they had become ours. Or maybe we aren't willed anything because no will is left behind but the government deems us the closest living relative and therefore gives us the inheritance left.   The expected and unexpected inheritances can be tremendous or absolutely nothing, they can be life changing or un-altering.  No matter our circumstance in this event, we are ALL given an inheritance in salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The inheritance is there for the taking but as any inheritance lawyer will tell you, not all inheritances are accepted. Some people refuse to collect their inheritances for one reason or another, they simply leave it alone rather than accept it. Maybe there is a paper they need to sign, but they refuse to sign it. Maybe there is an item they refuse to collect, whatever the situation it's factual that a physical here and now inheritance can be snubbed, just as many will refuse the inheritance offered to them by their Savior.

We live in a world that seems hopeless, all the while people strive for hope- but that hope is sorely misplaced. It is spent focusing on this world. All their hope is placed in this world becoming better collectively rather than in a future with their Savior in a better world, in a heavenly world. We, like Paul, are to live preaching of our heavenly inheritance through our SAVIOR!

Our lives must be lived with this heavenly hope in us. All we do should be secondary to the heavenly hope. We should be giving this heavenly hope to others. Never forcing another to believe, but offering them the chance to believe, this is what we must do, it was done for us. Living with the heavenly hope as a reality in our lives only makes our lives better through that hope. We don't neglect the life we are liiving now we let the hope enrich our lives.

Through the grace of our Lord and Savior we can have a heavenly HOPE. Our lives can have true, real meaning here and now because we have our Heavenly Hope.  There is a reason for all that goes on, the good and the bad, and knowing we have a heavenly hope makes the good and the bad endurable.

All in His amazing LOVE, our SAVIOR our HOPE all by HIS GRACE!

A living sacrifice

Are you a living sacrifice?

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
Rom 12:2  And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.

A living sacrifice.

Spiritual service.

Not fashioned according to this world.

Transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The grace that is given to us.

Do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

Think soberly.

God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.

A sacrifice is what?

Dictionary-
1:  an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially:  the killing of a victim on an altar
2:  something offered in sacrifice
3 a :  destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
   b :  something given up or lost
4:  loss

Pasted from  

A living sacrifice, a living offering to God. A giving up of ourselves so that God may work in us. A setting aside of ourselves.

We are given a measure of faith, we are given GRACE, and through this we CAN offer ourselves a LIVING SACRIFICE.

Why don't we believe we have to sacrifice anything in our lives? Why do we insist on being the most important thing in our own lives? Sacrifice ourselves? We can barely sacrifice anything, and most assuredly very little that is truly important to us. We tell ourselves that God understands, but what we are really saying is we don't want to give up very much of anything. We pat ourselves on the back while shouting into our conscience that others have so much more than we do. All the while we choose purposely to forget how many truly have so much less than we do. We shove that thought to the back of our mind preferring to indulge the other thought about others who have so much more.

Sacrifice.

It is so much easier to sacrifice anything other than ourselves.  How many prefer to sacrifice animals, and others but not self.

Please LORD, please help us to truly be a LIVING SACRIFICE for you, by YOUR GRACE!

OUR GOD WAS RICH and BECAME POOR for us!

2Co_8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Imagine being the richest person in all the world and giving it ALL up so others could be rich.

Giving it ALL up, keeping none for yourself at all whatsoever, imagine it.

Our Savior- a GOD, gave up His immortality so we could have the promise of future immortality.  He gave it up!  Now before you jump in and say He did not give up His immortality, He's alive right now, remember when He became MAN, when He became FLESH, He divested Himself of His Godhood, He stripped off His immortality, He could NOT take His immortality with Him when He put on our flesh which has inherited the tendency towards sin.  He put on that flesh, our flesh. He put on the same flesh as we have and the moment He was born His flesh was subject to the same events as ours is. He could get cut and bruised, He could feel hot and cold, His flesh grew as He aged just as ours does. His flesh began to age with lines, with tiny wrinkles just as ours does when we reach our thirties. His flesh like our flesh could be nothing else if He were to redeem us.

Php 2:5  Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Php 2:7  but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men
Php 2:8  and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.  (ASV)

EMPTIED HIMSELF- taking the form of a SERVANT, being made in the LIKENESS of MEN.

He EMPTIED HIMSELF! He gave EVERYTHING up to save us! He DID not know beyond a doubt that He wouldn't fail. Yes, there are plans, there are ideas, there are prophecies and they do come to pass, however things don't always unfold as WE imagine. Remember Jonah? He didn't want to go to Nineveh, but he did and he told them to repent or else. He had no way of knowing they'd repent, and yet they did and they were spared the wrath of God. If they chose NOT to repent they would NOT have been spared.  They had a choice to make. So while it was determined what would happen there were contingencies. Our Savior was TEMPTED, lest we forget!  And to be tempted you have to have the ability to give into that temptation or it's not temptation at all.  Our Savior became flesh and dwelt among us…

Joh_1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.


Heb_2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil

1Ti_3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory

1Pe_3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit

1Pe_4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin

1Jn_4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God

1Jn_4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2Jn_1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

OUR GOD BECAME FLESH.

2Co_8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

OUR GOD WAS RICH and BECAME POOR for us!

For us.

By the grace of God may we realize just what our GOD gave up for us!

Please, LORD, please help us, save us, keep us all in YOU!

Strength made perfect in weakness

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Our Savior's grace is sufficient for all of us no matter what we are called to overcome, to live with, to work through, to accept in life.  Often we encounter awful parts of life, things that cause us to cry hysterically, to wish we were never born. Every single one of us has to face terrible things. We have to come face to face with the death of loved ones. We endure our loved ones falling ill. Tragic accidents, sick children, injured beloved pets, awful tragedies that occur to complete strangers that cut us to the quick- all of these things bring us pain . We have emotional traumas, mental breakdowns, and sometimes they occur in ways we can't imagine and yet they exist. Our tragedies might not be another's. Our tragedies some might laugh at, yet they're ours and things we pray to have taken away.

So often we pray asking God to take the tragedies away. We ask Him to heal the injured, the sick, to keep the dying from death. We ask Him to lighten our load, to ease our pain, our heartaches, our lives.  We turn to Him and seek relief and yet all too often nothing changes for all our praying. The pain remains.

What does it mean when the pain remains? Does it mean God wants us to suffer? No. Because God doesn't want anyone to suffer. He allows it because it is what the result of sin brings, but He does NOT want us to suffer. God would have us ALL one with Him. God would have us all be Children of Obedience.  God would have us all children of Love, and He is love!  Yet He allows the awfulness of life to exist because we CHOSE to disobey. We believed that our Creator was denying us something special because of His own evil, that's the lie Satan told. He said that God knew when we ate of the tree we'd be like god, right?

Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

We believe God was NOT love. And we DISOBEYED.  When we disobeyed we opened the door wide for all the evil that exists today. And God, rather than destroy us a bad creation, a creation gone wrong, instead revealed TRUE LOVE in the GOSPEL of our SAVIOR, SAVED BY GRACE.

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.


God's GRACE is sufficient in us for ALL things no matter how horrific and long lasting they may be.  ANYTHING we are called to endure is nothing in the face of ETERNITY with GOD through the SALVATION of our SAVIOR!

No, it doesn't seem like nothing at the time, it seems like EVERYTHING, all consuming and awful, but eternity with LOVE makes all things endurable through HIS POWER.

HIS GRACE is sufficient for us!
HIS STRENGTH is made perfect in our weakness!

By HIS grace we need to glory in our infirmities so our Savior's power will rest upon us!

Glory in our infirmities, so intensely hard to do, to find the hope as pain engulfs us, yet we must CLING to HIM, trust HIM, know that HE will keep us IN HIM for eternity!

Please LORD help us to glory in our infirmities! HELP US! SAVE US! ALL THROUGH YOUR LOVE!!!!!!!

Children of Disobedience

The children of disobedience have the spirit of the prince of the power of the air working in them.  Who is this prince that enables the disobedience in these people? What prince rules over disobedience and therefore over sin, over evil?

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them

The god of THIS world! This is the prince of disobedience. And the god of THIS WORLD BLINDS those who choose to be his, keeping the LIGHT of the GOSPEL of CHRIST from them!
What sort of god would keep the glorious gospel from people? What sort of god would have us kept in darkness?

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Rulers of darkness! Principalities! Powers! Spiritual wickedness! Who?

Joh 12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

This god will be CAST OUT.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

THE DEVIL! SATAN!

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The devil is REAL and NOT TO BE TRIFLED with!

Reread this--


Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience

We who were under SATAN, that's YOU, that's ME!  We were DEAD in our SINS! We WALKED according to the course of THIS WORLD. We WALKED according to SATAN and all those who are NOT living redeemed under the grace through the gospel of our SAVIOR, are STILL WALKING WITH SATAN!

IT'S TRUTH!!!!!!!

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

THIS IS US! THIS WAS US! IT IS US NO LONGER!

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

BY GRACE WE ARE SAVED!

We are saved from the prince of the air, from principalities, from the powers of darkness, from the dragon, from satan, from the devil!   We don't HAVE to succumb to the course of this WORLD which would have us die in eternal death with Satan.

You think this world has good things for you? You think this world will be changed to goodness?  No!  This world will not ever be the world that is truly idealized.

Our Savior did NOT come to bring peace to THIS world, but a SWORD.  That sword is the weapon that will defeat the prince of this world, the WORD of GOD defeats satan!

We cannot glorify satan! We cannot glorify this world and its evils!

We must glorify GOD!

By the GRACE of GOD we are SAVED through FAITH! ALL IN HIM! None in us!

Please LORD, we would be saved by YOU!

Save us, LORD and SAVIOR, save us!