The Energy of Prayer

Prayer is the greatest of all forces because it honors God and brings him into active aid. There can be no substitute, no rival for prayer; it stands alone as the great spiritual force, and this force must be imminent and acting. It cannot be dispensed with during one generation, nor can it be held in abeyance if any great movement is to be advanced. Rather it must be continuous and particular, always, everywhere, and in everything.
The book of Revelation says nothing about prayer as a great duty or a hallowed service … but much about prayer in it’s aggregated force and energies. It is the prayer force, ever living and ever praying; it is all saint’s prayers going out as a mighty, living energy, while the lips that uttered the words maybe stilled and sealed in death. The living church has an energy of faith to inherit the forces of all the past praying and to make it deathless.
Many people believe in the effectiveness of prayer, but not many people pray. Prayer is the easiest and hardest of all things. It is the simplest and the most sublime, the weakest and the most powerful. Its results lie outside the range of human possibilities; they are limited only by the omnipotence of God. Practice, and labor are required to be a skillful tradesman in all that we do, including prayer. One who is clumsy in the trade of praying will also mishandle the trade of salvation. Only toiling hands and hearts will make the workers proficient in this heavenly trade.
The burden of the apostolic effort and the keynote of apostolic success is this: Put the saints everywhere to the task of praying. Jesus Christ strove to put the saints to this task in the days of his personal ministry.
The Energy of Pentecost

He was moved with infinite compassion at seeing the ripened fields of earth perishing for lack of laborers (Matt 9:37-38) and pausing in his own praying, He tried to awaken the sleeping sensibilities of His disciples to the duty of prayer, as He charged them “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send fourth laborers into His harvest”. Before Pentecost, the apostles could get only glimpses of this great importance of prayer. But, when the Spirit came and filled them on Pentecost, prayer was elevated to its vital and all commanding position in the Gospel of Christ.
Where are the Christ -like leaders who can teach the modern saints to pray? John 15:1-5 … who will restore this branch that is sick and withering as I speak?
The lazy man does not and cannot pray, for prayer demands energy. Our prayer closet should be worn with use, stained with sweat & tears, a private place. It is the battlefield of the church, it’s citadel, the scene of heroic & unearthly conflicts. The closet is the base of supplies for the Christian and the church. The deep things of God are learned only in prayer. Great things for God are done by great prayers. Therefore, we ought to pray often, with both energy and perseverance.

Know when to speak #18

Personal One on One Discipleship
Many times this becomes a major issue. What do we try to teach a new Christian that will be helpful as they are building their own relationship with Jesus? Over the years I have seen churches try to bury new Christians in churchy activities. These activities are great, except at the beginning, a new Christian is usually excited to learn about the church and God, and most of the time it goes in that order. So, where do we start?
Why not go back through the gospel? Isn’t it a fact that most people only retain about 20% of what they hear initially? Why don’t we help to increase that number? How??
In our personal discipleship we can discuss some of the points of the gospel. We can take a small part at a time. We know the gospel is pretty much divided into five parts; Grace, Man, God, Christ and Faith. Let’s start at the beginning, Grace! We can have a series of questions that promote discussion, and at the same time solidify a foundation. Let’s start. This will be a great exercise for all of us. I’ll list a few questions that have to do with Grace. Take a little while and plug in the answers from scripture, and next month I’ll give you the exact answer, and where it’s at in the Bible. Then, I’ll give you a few more questions. Here goes:
1. Can the works of the Law give you eternal life? Yes/No___________
Where in the Bible does it say this?_______________.
2 What is eternal life called for those who trust in Christ (that is, who He is and what He did for you?)__________________________Bible verse:____________________
3 When God’s grace is received, what clothing does God
provide?__________________Bible verse_______________________
4 Have you personally believed (trusted in) Jesus Christ?_________________
5 What is the gift of God not a result of? ______________ (Ephesians 2-9)

As a person becomes more grounded in what they believe, the chance for them being snatched by a cult diminishes. I have seen the end result of a lack of discipleship on new Christians. They are swamped by cults, and end up joining them thinking they are doing the right thing. Let’s not let that happen!

Personal: Have you noticed how excited people are getting over the Muslim faith. Did you know the promoters are also trying to adopt Sharia Law? Basically, this is a justice system that would be incorporated inside our current justice system, and is considered an integral part of the Muslim faith? We’ll take a hard look at Sharia Law in the future.

ALittle Humor
…..or is it…..

Bible VS Cell Phone

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone? What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
Bible vs Cell Phone (cont.)What if we flipped through it several time a day? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it? What if we gave it to Kids as gifts? What if we used it when we traveled? What if we used it in case of emergency? This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being Disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think 'where are
my priorities? And no dropped calls! When Jesus died on the cross, He was thinking of you!

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ENCOURAGEMENT

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to Push against the rock with all his might... So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might! Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)! 'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. 'Lord,' he said, 'I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?' The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be Obedient and to push and to exercise your Faith and trust in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.'
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the Mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong..........................Just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you down........................................Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't do as you think they should..........Just P.U.S.H.
When your money is 'gone' and the bills are due....... Just P.U.S.H.
When people just don't understand you .....................Just P.U.S.H.
P = Pray U = Until S = Something H = Happens