WALK THIS WAY

Isaiah 30:21 (NKJV) Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.

Can God speak to us?  Well many other verses shows that He does.  There are times that we are just doing our thing, and we will feel like we heard a voice behind us.  Do not always throw that away, thinking it was just the wind.  At times, it can be God's voice.

Now, I am not saying that every time you hear something that it is God's voice.  But I have found that at times when I am seeking God about something, I need to be sensitive to His voice.  He might want to speak in a word that just gives me understanding.

Many times, it is not even a whole bunch of words, but one word from God can change everything!  I have had times when I would just hear a single word, and I could not get away from it.  I would find out later that it was the Spirit of God trying to get my attention.  At other times, we hear something deep within us, and again, it is the precious Spirit of God speaking to our spirit.

So when you hear a voice to the right or to the left of you, do not always throw it out.  Say, “Lord, are you trying to say something to me?”  Stay close to His voice, listen, and then when He does speak, train yourself to obey it.  Obedience always brings reward, and the reward here is that God can trust you with His voice.  As you trust Him and obey, He will continue to speak to you more often.

Confession:  I am learning to follow the voice of the Spirit of God.  Today, I will listen to His voice speaking to my heart, and I will obey what He says to me.  My Heavenly Father does speak to me, because He can trust me with His voice.

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EFFECTUAL PRAYER (Part 3)

Daniel 10:12-14 (NKJV) Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come."

In this story, Daniel is praying for understanding.  On the twenty-first day he received a vision, and the answer to his prayer.  Now this is effectual praying!  We see that Daniel did not stop praying after one day, or after one week.  No, he stayed with it for three weeks, and then he received his answer.

Too many times we pray for things, and when we do not see the answer in our timing, we get discouraged and give up on our prayer, and we never receive the answer.

It says in Hebrews 10:35-36, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

Just like Daniel, just like Elijah, and just like anyone who got their prayers answered, we have to go into the presence of Almighty God with boldness and assurance that He wants to answer our prayer.  The way that we can get this boldness is to find the answer to our prayer in His Word.  If we cannot find it in the Word, then we really should not ask for it, because God's Word is His will.

One man of God said it like this, "I am not quick to pray.  I am quick to look into the Bible, and then when I find the answer to my need, I pray the answer.”  That is powerful!  It is always better to enter His throne room with the answer, and thank Him for it.  God wants to answer our prayers, so let us take some time, as Daniel did, and find what His Word says, and then pray the answer, and not let go until we see it come to pass.

Confession: God's Word works as I work the Word.  As I find the answer to the prayer that I am praying, I will not let go of it until I see the manifestation of it.  God, my Father, wants to answer all of my prayers that line up with the Bible.

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EFFECTUAL PRAYER (Part 2)

1 Kings 18:42 (NKJV) So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.”

Sometimes we wonder why some people get their prayers answered and others do not.  I wonder this at times, but then I look at a verse like this and I say, “Ok, I get it.”

You see, Elijah had a word from God, just like many of us do.  The word was that it would not rain for three and a half years, and then it would rain again.  So here in this verse, we see that Elijah did not take it for granted.  He got down on the ground, put his face between his knees, and would not move until he got the answer.  Once he knew that God had heard his request, He went into action.  Look at the rest of the story:

1 Kings 18:43-46, “…and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’ 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.”’ 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

Elijah, in faith, told his servant seven times, “Keep going back and keep checking.  I know God's Word works, and I am going to keep working the Word.”  So, his servant obeyed him each time, and on the seventh time, he saw a cloud the size of a man's hand, and Elijah said, “Here it comes!”

Many times, we do not get serious in our praying, and we do not hold on no matter what.  In this great story, we see that to get our prayers answered, we have to hold on, and if it takes seven times or one hundred times, God will answer our prayers.

Confession:  Today, I put my face down on the ground and I will not let go of this petition I am praying.  I will hold onto my confession, and I will see God, my Father, do amazing things!

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EFFECTUAL PRAYER (Part 1)

James 5:16-18 (AMP )16 Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. 17 Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours]; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months.  18 And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual].

I want us, for the next few days, to look at effectual prayer.  I like the way the Amplified version of the Bible translates this verse.  It says, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”  That is talking about us!  We are the righteous ones, because of what Jesus has done for us.  So in prayer, we can see tremendous power available.

When we get fervent in our prayers, we will see mighty things happen.  Many times in prayer we just do it, but when we make a heart connection and give it our all, we will see the results that the Bible talks about.  In the next couple of days, we are going to look at Elijah and Daniel, and see how their prayers changed nations. 

But the point I want us to see today is that it is not about being a Daniel or Elijah.  The point is about being righteous, which we are because of Jesus, and then being fervent in our prayers.  We should not just pray and daydream.  We should hook up with the Holy Spirit, our Helper, and get things done in the spirit realm.

Confession: I am the righteousness of God, in Christ Jesus.  Because of that, my prayer life is effectual.  I will continue to grow, and let the Holy Spirit pray through me, as I yield myself to His leading.

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RUN TO WIN

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT) 24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

When we watch the Olympics, we see the amazing discipline that these athletes show to win a gold, silver, or bronze medal.  It is truly amazing!  In today’s passage, I can see that the Apostle Paul must have taken some time out to watch the games in Greece, and what he saw reminded him of the parallel between these athletes, and believers in Jesus.

We, as believers, are in a race, and in this race we need to discipline ourselves.  We cannot get so full of this world that it makes us lazy and unreceptive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul also says that he disciplines his body and keeps it under, and we, as Christians, have to do the same thing.  I do not want to be disqualified, and if I have to keep this flesh under to do that, then I have to do it.  I believe that throughout all eternity, we will be shouting His praises!  Those that went the extra mile and gave it all that they had will be so glad that they did, because we will be rewarded for all that we gave to the Lord.

A prophecy that was once spoken said that God sees us, even when no one else does.  He sees you writing that check.  He sees you praying when everyone else is out playing.  Do not stop!  Payday is on the way!

Confession: I see, today, that I am in a race, and since I am in this race, I am going for the gold!  I want to do this so that on the day I stand before my Jesus, I can take my crown and place it at His feet, and give Him all the glory.

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THE RACE OF FAITH

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Have you ever gone for a jog?  If so, have you ever gone for a run with weights on your ankles?  There is a big difference!  I remember when I was young, I used to put ankle weights on, and then go for a run or shoot some hoops.  When I took the weights off, I felt like I could run forever!  That is what this verse is saying to us.  We need to lay aside every weight, or hindrance, and run our race fully for God.

You might ask what these weights are that this verse calls sin.  Well, I believe that it is different things for different people.  For some, it might be wasting time, for others it might be telling lies. It can be so many different things, so we need the help of the Holy Spirit to see them, and then break them.

You might ask, “What do I do to break them?”  I like what verse 2 says: “Looking unto Jesus…”  When we put our eyes on Him and let Him lead us and help us, we see a lot of these sins lose their power over us.  Jesus said that we would know the truth, and the truth would set us free.  He also said that His Word is truth.

So today, put your eyes on Jesus. Tell Him that you want to get rid of any sin that would slow you down, so that you can be all that He would want you to be.  Tell Him that you want to run your race, and finish your race, and win the prize that He has for you.

Confession: Today, I make a decision to look within my own heart and work on the areas that need to be worked on.  Today, it is not about anyone else.  It is about me. 

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FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

How much easier it would have been if God had said for us to take it easy, get a few extra hours of sleep, lay back, and that all will be just fine.  But God knows that we have an enemy, satan, who would look for a time just like that, and take what we have worked so hard for.

The Bible tells us to fight the fight of faith.  I have found that there is so much doubt and unbelief out there.  We need to watch what we read, hear, and see.  This fight of faith comes against us on every side. 

Here you are, standing on the Word of God for your healing, and faith is rising up in your heart, and then someone comes along and says, "Well, you know, it might be God who put this on you to teach you something."  Then all that faith that you worked so hard to get in your heart gets watered down.  That is why Paul states here that we need to fight for our faith.  We need to lay hold of eternal life.

When I lay hold of something good or important, I have to hold onto it for dear life.  I have to be like a pit bull with a bone in my mouth.  I need to be single minded, believing that what God said is true.  I am not going to let go of it, no matter what.   I am not going to let go of it, no matter what anyone says.  I really do not care how many books someone wrote, or how big his or her church is.  IF GOD SAID IT, THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING TO BELIEVE.  How about you?

Confession: Today, I choose to fight the good fight of faith.  Today, I choose to lay hold of eternal life.  I am like a pit bull with a bone.  If God said it, I am going to believe it until I see the manifestation of it.

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