Wonderful Jesus!

Category: Prayer

• Pray Without Ceasing!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on September 10, 2020

  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” NKJV

  

  pray-without-ceasing_.mp3

  Praying without ceasing! I was a member of a Baptist Church when I first learned this scripture. Over the years, I have tried to be this person who pray without ceasing. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t arrived yet, but I believe sincerely in the discipline of praying without ceasing.

  There used to be a time in my life when I would get some really bad news and I would say, “All I can do is pray” as if every possible avenue had been tried and I was now left with trying prayer. I truly believe this attitude of, I guess I now have to pray, is the root behind many unanswered prayer.

  I spend a lot of time reading and studying about prayer, people who pray, and the impact of a life of prayer. I want to pray more effectively, I want to see my prayers answered instantly, I want to see God move in people lives and situations, and sometimes, I just want to deepen my communion with the Father!

  The phrase, “praying without ceasing” causes me to infer some things about prayer that will break through our traditions on how to pray: our posture, our voice, our place.

  If I am truly to pray without ceasing, then the posture of prayer doesn’t matter to God. Some people think that prayers must be prayed on bended knees, because it demonstrates humility, and it does. Some people think standing is the position of prayer, because Jesus said “when you stand praying”! These are certainly postures of prayer. However, you can also pray sitting in a chair, riding in your car, walking down the street (I love to prayer walk), or laying out before the Lord, just to name a few! And whichever posture you happen to be in when you pray, God will hear you!

  Lightfoot, a well-known commentator to many theologians, wrote that it’s not possible for us to spend all of our time with words of prayer on our lips; but, we can remain in the spirit of prayer, recognizing that we are dependent on God for everything! This leads to my second point. Some believe you are not praying, if you are not opening your mouth, for when Jesus taught the disciples to pray He said, “And when you pray, say…” While using your words are an important part of praying, your heart’s cry or desire, can get the job done! After all, if you go about praying out loud all day, you’ll look like a crazy person! I have prayed many prayers in my heart that I have seen God answer! Do I pray out loud? Most definitely! But, there have been times that words could not express what was in my heart, or I wasn’t where I could pray them, and yet God heard, understood, and responded!

  Praying without ceasing keeps us from being locked down to a location. My sister-in-law, Pastor Caren, teaches on “The Secret Place”. Whenever she does, it causes me to want to pray even more. Even still, you don’t have to be confined to praying in one place. Jesus’ instructions to us to pray in the secret place is vital in developing a personal prayer life. However, if that was the only place we could pray, we could not pray always. The car, the church, the bank, the restaurant, the shower, the garden, the beach, are all great locations for prayer. Any place, is a great place, to talk with God. Enjoy the secret place, but if you find yourself in the bathroom and someone is crying their heart out, it’s okay to stop and pray. God is in the bathroom!

  Smith Wigglesworth, an evangelist in the early part of the 20th century, walked in supernatural miracles which included the raising of the dead, and creative miracles of body parts being restored. Once he was asked how long did he pray? Here’s the discourse from a book written about him:

  “Tell us, how long do you pray every day?  “Well, the apostle replied, “I don’t ever pray any longer than twenty minutes.” What?” his questioners exclaimed. After pausing for effect, Smith Wigglesworth continued, “Yes, but I never go twenty minutes without praying”.

  I think we can all agree that Wigglesworth was a man who prayed without ceasing! It is even said, about his prayer life, that people couldn’t take being in the room with him when he prayed, because of the presence of God! That’s powerful!

  We should get to a place where we are talking to God about everything that is happening in our day. He wants to be involved in every part of our lives. Some say, it would be ridiculous to ask God what to wear! I have heard more than one testimony of someone asking, of Him answering, and of it being a benefit in more ways than one. But it’s not necessary to ask Him what to wear, He gives us free choice. However, throughout the day, there will be many times when talking softly to the Lord will make things go so much better!

  Is there a reason to pray continuously?

  • Luke 18:1-Jesus Himself said that if we are always praying, we won’t faint! That means constant communication with God, through prayer, gives us the strength to make it through the tough times in life!
  • Luke 21:36- Jesus says that we should not allow our hearts to be weighed down with the cares of this life to the point that we will miss His return! However, if we are praying continuously, we will not be drinking and carousing, but watching for His return and will not be caught unaware!
  • Ephesians 6:18 -Paul talked about the armor of God, then he said that we are to pray with all kinds of prayer! It is a strategic weapon against our enemy and his attacks, and praying always enables us to be watchful for all the saints! Have you ever been praying about one thing, when God interrupts your prayer, bring someone to your heart or mind, and you begin to pray? Then you find out that it was at a crucial moment that had a major impact on their life? Wow!

  I know some prayer warriors. They can be in the middle of a celebration, hear of a need, and go into serious combative prayer. My mother-in-law wouldn’t let you out of her sight without her praying for you. It’s a beautiful thing to have so many people in your life who can pray at the drop of a hat, because they live a life of prayer. I thank God for them! The word of God tells us to pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God concerning us! Let’s get started today! Wonderful Jesus!!

  Posted in Bitterness, Prayer, will of God | 4 Comments | Tagged Attitude, encouragement, God, Jesus, miraculous, pray without ceasing, Prayer, Smith Wigglesworth, Spiritual warfare, supernatural, testimony, the devil

• Plead Your Case!

  Posted at 9:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on May 16, 2020

  Isaiah 38:3-5 – “O Lord, don’t you remember how true I’ve been to you and how I’ve always tried to obey you in everything you said?” Then he broke down with great sobs. So the Lord sent another message to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah that the Lord God of your forefather David hears you praying and sees your tears and will let you live fifteen more years.” TLB

  

  I was reading in the book of Isaiah, when I read the account of Hezekiah’s reign again. As I was reading it, I was reminded of his prayer that caused his life to be extended. God had sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah to tell him to get his house in order, he was going to die. When Hezekiah heard this word, he turned his face to the wall and cried to God and prayed. What he was actually doing in this prayer was pleading to God for mercy based on his obedience to the word of God. Isaiah had already left the king’s presence, so God had to send him back to Hezekiah to let him know that He had heard his prayers and had extended his life by fifteen years. That’s pretty impressive results.

  In Acts 9, we can read about Dorcas. She was known for her charitable deeds and good works. But one day she became sick and died. They sent for Peter and when he showed up they showed him some of the things she had made. In other words, they pleaded her case to Peter. Peter put them all out, prayed to God on behalf of the people for Dorcas, and God raised her from the dead. Glory!

  The question is, can we go to God, plead our case, and get help? I would say absolutely. Any principle in the word of God is established by two or three witnesses. I just gave you two. And there are a few times in the gospels where people pleaded with Jesus on behalf of another. One of my favorite is the woman who pleaded with Jesus for her daughter. Remember Jesus told her that it wasn’t right to give the children’s bread to the dogs. She pleaded with Him by saying, even the dogs get the crumbs from under the table. She was pleading for her baby to be delivered, and she got her request! So there is biblical proof that we can plead our case to God.

  I remember reading a testimony of a situation similar to what Dorcas’ friends experienced. The person who shared the testimony was called to the place where the individual was extremely ill. And as he was being told of the situation the people kept talking to him about the life of this individual and how dedicated the person was to the Lord. He got the inspiration to do as Peter did. He prayed and pleaded the case of that person before God and the person was raised from the bed of affliction.

  When I was single, I pleaded my case to the Lord. I was ready to settle down and for me that meant marriage. I went to the Lord in prayer and while I was praying I heard myself say something like this: “Lord, you said that if I would bring all the tithe into your storehouse that You would pour me out a blessing that I would not have room enough to receive. Lord, I have been faithful in the area of tithing. Where is my blessing?” Would you believe that God told me to call the man who is my current husband? Rather you do or not, it happened. I pleaded with God on the basis of my faithfulness in the area of my giving.

  Then there’s an even better way to plead your cause, when you plead the Blood! There are so many promises wrapped up in our covenant with God through the Blood. Promises of health, prosperity, soundness of mind, righteousness, peace…it’s covered in the Blood. I don’t know what you are experiencing right now, but whatever you stand in need of, plead your case to the Lord! Ask Him for a favorable answer on the basis of your faithfulness to Him and His kingdom; or skip over all of that and ask on the basis of the Blood!

  Our pastor says something like this, when you go into the court room of heaven, it’s fixed. Your attorney Jesus, your brother, goes to the judge, your Father, on your behalf! When you know that the One you are appealing to is already on your side, it doesn’t take convincing, it just takes faith in the truth that He’s willing to do that which you have asked.

  You may say, I’ve heard that before, I’ve tried that, and it didn’t work. Guess what? Stop siding with the devil, work out your unbelief issues, and try it again in faith! He’s for you! And it is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Faith, God’s faithfulness, Prayer | 0 Comments | Tagged Dorcas, Faith, Hezekiah, Jesus, Peter, Prayer, testimony, trust in God, victory, witness

• God is Awake!

  Posted at 9:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on April 28, 2020

  Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” NKJV

  

  “Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” Corrie Ten Boom

  Two very powerful quotes against worrying! We know that we shouldn’t! We know it’s not good for us, yet we often find ourselves worrying.

  Recently I had a conversation with someone who told me that she was a Christian. She expressed that she knew that she shouldn’t worry or be fearful, but she was afraid of getting the coronavirus. When you look at the growing number of people who contract the virus, and the ones who pass away, you can easily see that her “concerns” aren’t far fetched. However, worrying about whether or not something is going to happen to you or is not going to happen to you, isn’t going to stop the thing from happening. So worrying is unproductive.

  Corrie Ten Boom was a survivor of the Holocaust. I read her autobiography as a teenager. If ever there was an individual who had things to worry about, it was Corrie. She encouraged her family to “build” a refuge for hiding Jews and Dutch resistant fighters in their home, in her bedroom. She was later reported for saving the lives of 800 Jews and numerous Dutch resistants. In undertaking this task, she knew that she was putting her life and lives of her family members in danger; but she also knew that she couldn’t worry about that. One day, someone came to her for assistance, but that person really came to set her up. When her home was raided and her family was arrested, (and most of them died), she had people hidden in her room, but they were later freed by others in the network. I would say that she had much to worry over. But she understood that worrying about what could happen would only zap her strength from doing what needed to be done in that moment.

  The apostle Paul wrote that we are to be anxious for nothing, but to pray about everything. I am sure that Corrie, a Christian who apparently lived out her faith, knew this verse. Paul said prayer would bring about a peace that would guard our hearts and cause people to not understand it.

  I may have shared this in another post, I’m not sure. But when our middle daughter was born we had to live in this verse. We had prayed that she would be born naturally, she was not. We had prayed that she would be born healthy. She was not. We had prayed that the expenses would be minimal, they were off the charts. Nothing seemed to be as we asked. My husband said that he was reminding God about all of these prayers that hadn’t been answered when God spoke this verse into his heart. He shared that with me while I was still in the hospital and I was encouraged.

  I won’t go into all of those details, but I will bring up another point. The thing that was wrong was her larynx was damaged in the womb. My contractions were so severe for so long that she was injured. They said she might die. We took her home and she did have difficulty breathing, but we just continued to pray. One night, while listening to her breathe, I was on the point of tears when God spoke to me. He said, “Why are you awake?” And I responded that she could die while I was asleep. He said, “Your being awake can’t stop her from dying and neither can you being asleep cause it. I’m awake and there’s no point in the both of us being awake.” I went to sleep. And she was made whole!

  There was nothing to be done about the prayers about having a natural birth, or about her being born healthy. But God healed her and took care of all those bills! He’s just good like that! My point is this, worrying truly doesn’t change a thing, but it does rob us of our strength and joy for today. In the gospels, Jesus said that we are to let tomorrow take care of itself. It was my mother’s favorite saying! A reminder that is as needed today as it was when Jesus said it!

  This coronavirus is set up to be here for a while. We can’t afford to spend our time in worry. But we can spend our time in prayer and gain an assurance that God is awake and there’s no reason for us to be up worrying about anything. Even COVID-19! And as we pray, we are causing things to change in this natural world that they think is just a result of social distancing. I’m all into social distancing, but I’m placing my confidence in Jesus!Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Prayer, trust in God, Worry | 6 Comments | Tagged anxious, coronavirus, encouragement, hard times, Healing, Jesus, miraculous, Prayer, trust in God, victory, Worry

• Healing of the Nations

  Posted at 2:58 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 10, 2020

  2 Chronicles 7:14 -If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. KJV

  I am finding it hard to conceptualize the far reaching arm of the coronavirus. It almost doesn’t seem real! But God’s word is as relevant today as it was when these words were spoken to Solomon! I am sure many are already praying, but I wanted my followers and readers to know that I am also praying:

  Father God, You are as awesome as You have ever been and for that I say thanks! I give You honor as I lift up the nations in regards to this virus that is spreading worldwide.

  You said that if Your people would humble themselves and pray…So I humble myself tonight Father and I pray against this terrible attack against mankind. It could be that we as a world have sinned terribly and have opened ourselves up for this onslaught against the people. It could be that the enemy is trying to stop the spread of the gospel. It could be a lot of things and unless you tell me, I don’t know.

  But I do know that I can pray. I pray right now, in the Name that is above “coronavirus”, the Name of Jesus that You will bring this to end. I pray that as You give wisdom to those who are working non-stop to deal with this in the natural realm that You will also give us wisdom as we pray to deal with it in the supernatural realm.

  I lift up the nations that have already seen so many become infected, even those nations where people are dying, and I pray that You will step in and bring relief, comfort and healing. I pray that You will protect those who have no way of knowing if they have been exposed to the virus and those who have no way of getting medical help. I ask that You, the Great Physician will step in with Your divine healing and protection.

  I ask Father, that as we pray, that a spirit of peace will replace a spirit of chaos; that a spirit of faith will take the place of the spirit of fear; that You will do a worldwide miracle; and that as we, Your ambassadors are moving in our sphere of influences that we will be that light in the midst of this darkness, assuring others of Your Great Love, praying for the sick, assisting where needed!

  I pray for those in quarantine that this will be a productive time for them of getting to know their families and even You better; that they will allow what is meant to bring them discouragement to bring them great joy and peace in Your Presence. I pray for quick recoveries of those who are ill and protection for those who are not! Let resources begin to pour into cities, villages, towns, and even nations!

  I pray that as You reveal to us, what is going on, that we will hear, repent if need be, and embrace Your grace. And if we don’t get clarity that we will trust that You are working things out for our good! Then I ask that You bring healing not only to the people, but to our lands. Let not the enemy have his way in this situation, I pray, but arise and scatter him and his cohorts.

  And Father, I want You to know that I believe that Your goodness is in full operation, even in the midst of this and if we dare to believe that and trust it, we shall see Your deliverance. In Jesus’ Name I pray! Amen! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in coronavirus, Healing, Prayer, protection | 0 Comments | Tagged 2 Chronicles 7:14, Believer, Christian, Faith, Healing, Jesus, Prayer

• A Matter of the Heart!

  Posted at 1:20 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 8, 2020

  Key Text: Psalm 119:10-With my whole heart I have sought You…

  When was the last time that you were able to say like David that you sought the Lord with your whole heart? I don’t know about you but I can say with a certainty that every prayer that I pray is not prayed with my whole heart. As I am studying, how to pray effectively, I am taking this time to be honest before the Lord about my prayer life. I am allowing the Holy Spirit to shed light on those prayers that have been answered and those prayers that have not been answered so that I have more answered prayers than not. I have decided that the fault of unanswered prayer lie at my door and not at His. It is with that in mind that I write this blog.

  William Penn was an English Quaker best known for founding the colony of Pennsylvania as a place for religious freedom in America. He was a minister, missionary, lawyer, and a journalist. Charles Finney, in his autobiography quoted this saying from William Penn:

  For nothing reaches the heart but what is from the heart or pierces the conscience but what comes from a living conscience.—William Penn

  This quote resonated with me reminding me of the truth of God’s word regarding prayer. If it doesn’t touch my heart, it probably doesn’t touch the heart of God. David’s statement, in the above scripture, is an echo of a truth regarding prayer that is often overlooked: we are to pray with our whole heart! Not our physical organ of a heart, but with our spiritual heart.

  The word “heart” comes from the Hebrew word “lebab ” and is used to depict the inner man. It is also used to refer to the seat of desire, inclination, or will of an individual. When thinking of the heart as the seat of my desires it causes me to think of praying being all in, or fully engaged. When I think of engagement in prayer, I am thinking of things like, is my mind fully engaged in this prayer or am I thinking about other things? Do I care if this prayer is answered or not; how important to me is the answer? Do I truly believe that I am communing with the Father, or am I just going through an exercise? These questions and some others you may think of are important in dealing with praying with our whole heart.

  The psalms are songs, but many of them are also prayers. As I was looking at the subject of heartfelt prayers I came upon this verse written by David:

  Psalm 35:13-14- But I, when they were ill, wore sackcloth; I put myself out and fasted; I can pray that what I prayed for them might also happen to me. I behaved as I would for my friend or my brother; I bent down in sorrow as if mourning my mother. CJB

  David is reminiscing about his times of prayer for others. He recalls how when they were sick, he fasted on their behalf and cried out to the Lord. David said that he prayed for them basically as if he was praying for himself. He wanted God to intervene on their situation as he would have wanted God to do it for him. This is praying with one’s whole heart. Most of us can probably go there when we have a serious situation going on in our lives, but how many of us can do that when something is going on in someone else’s life?

  Through the years I have had the privilege of praying for many who were sick. When I pray for the sick at home, I am all in, asking God for greater anointing to get them healed, for a time when there is no sick amongst us, for miracles to break out amongst His people in a greater way. I recall one of my earlier times when I prayed for someone who was sick. I was in the grocery store when I came upon a woman having a seizure. She looked at me and was able to get that out to me. I caught her as she was falling, knelt beside her and began to pray with an urgency! I took authority over that demonic seizure spirit, bound his activity and commanded him to leave. The crowd was gathering and I heard someone say call 911; but I just kept my focus on her deliverance and kept praying. I remembered when my baby had been diagnosed with abnormal seizure activity and I got mad at the devil! So I prayed. A few minutes later her body calmed, she got up and thanked me and we both continued to shop for our groceries. Glory to God!

  Another time I was at a conference when I passed a group of women praying for a lady who was in great pain; and I heard her say she was considering leaving the conference. I had to go to restroom and since I was just an attendee, I continued on my way. But I said to the Lord that I would go over there and pray if she was still there when I returned, because it looked like they needed help. I began to join my faith with them as I went to the restroom, praying in the Spirit. When I returned, they were still praying so I walked over, asked if I could pray, and they said yes. She was made free because of His faithfulness to His Word! He is the God that Heals! I believe those women were praying with all of their heart for their friend, I just know that sometimes we can all use a little help!

  This isn’t always the results that I get. This is why I am studying prayer. Can I just be honest and say that I study it whenever I begin to feel frustration in my prayer life? I want to be more effective and get greater and more consistent results. Even now when I pray for people I see them get healed, especially of pain, but not all of them get healed. Some have died and gone on to be with the Lord. Some have had miraculous turn arounds! Thank God for that! But my heart is that not a single person live a single day longer in sickness than they have to, and they stop dying of sickness and disease. Just go to sleep and go home after a ripe old age and a fulfilled life! Glory be to God!!

  I get what William Penn said that if prayer doesn’t touch my heart that it won’t touch the Father’s heart. I want to pray every prayer with my whole heart. Most often than not, that will be in my private time or in corporate prayer so that when someone needs me to pray for them, I can boldly stand in faith and decree their victory as if it was my victory! It’s simply a matter of the heart! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, Christian, Prayer, Psalm 119, Victorious Living | 0 Comments | Tagged Christian, encouragement, Faith, Healing, heart, Jesus, miraculous, Prayer, Psalm 119, victory

• What Do You Want?

  Posted at 3:30 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 6, 2020

  Matthew 20:32 – So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” NKJV

  Jesus was leaving Jericho on this particular day, and of course He was surrounded by people. As He walked along the street there were two blind men sitting on the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing they cried out to Him for mercy. Some in the crowd told them to be quiet, but they got louder and cried out again for mercy.

  How many times have you prayed for God’s mercy when what you needed was finances, or healing, or some other thing? God’s mercy is His compassion towards mankind. The Hebrew word for mercy is eleéō, and means “to compassionate (by word or deed, specially, by divine grace) (The Blue Bible). I personally believe that all of God’s responses to us is because of His compassion towards us. But His compassion or mercy is so endless that we need to refine our request for results that matter.

  All too often when we pray we are general and have a tendency of being repetitive and full of religious sayings. We go through life wondering how we can be so faithful in praying and yet we lack results in our prayers being answered. We can get loud and emotional, we clap and stomp and say “Father God! In the Name of Jesus, and other phrases to fill our prayer time, and leave tired from the activity with no assurance of our prayers being answered. Jesus said that when we pray, we are not to use vain repetitions. Matthew 6:7- “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” When I read this verse, it helped me to see that I really did need to listen to make some changes in the way that I was praying.

  In our scripture we have these two men, crying out for mercy. When Jesus stops and asks them what do they want Him to do for them they don’t ask for mercy! Isn’t that surprising that they have been yelling for mercy, but now that they have His attention, they are no longer asking for mercy? No! They ask for their eyes to be opened! And Jesus opened their eyes! He showed them mercy when He opened their eyes, but He could have shown them mercy without ever opening their eyes. They were specific in what they wanted and they got exactly what they wanted.

  Our verse for today, share an important ingredient in praying effectively. That simple truth is this, that we are to be specific in our prayers. In dealing with my children when they were small, I often had to try and figure out what they wanted. My second born was a fast talker when she was a toddler and some times she would talk so fast I couldn’t understand what she was saying. On one occasion she was going at it and I kept asking her what did she want. Finally, her big sister said to me that she wanted some water. I said that she was not asking for water. Then my oldest turned to her and asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted water?” She said yes with her head bobbing enthusiastically. To this day, I still think that she just agreed with her because it was her big sister, but the point is that I couldn’t help her until I knew what she wanted.

  1 John 5:14-15 – Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

  It’s also important to ask. This word for petition is aiteo in the Greek. It means to be adamant in requesting and even demanding assistance in meeting tangible needs. This doesn’t mean being disrespectful to the Lord, but it does mean that you can respectfully ask God for what you want, and when you are specific in your request that is based on the word of God, you can boldly ask and expect that you will receive what you want from the Lord.

  This type of praying is known as petition praying and it’s all about being specific in our request. The Greek word aitema is a form of the word ask, and it means specific, exact, explicit, precise, and detailed request. This request is so thorough that there is no misunderstanding of what is being asked and expected. This picture of prayer is so detailed that it is a bona fide petition that has been submitted to the Father.

  Some in the Body teach that we should write down our prayers and be specific about what we want so that we can recognize when we get the answer. I am really bad at that and am working to get better, but the really important things are hard to forget.

  Over the years I have learned two very important things about praying. The first is to ask! Jesus won’t always ask you what do you want! But He is always available to hear our requests! The second is to be specific. If you want to be healed of something, be specific about that. If you want finances for something, tell Him what you need. You might ask, “Doesn’t He already know what you want or need! Yes, He does. But asking is part of the receiving. Until next time! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, Christian, Matthew 20:32, Prayer | 0 Comments | Tagged Believer, Christian, God, Jesus, Matthew 20:32, petition, Prayer

• This Life I Now Live!

  Posted at 12:01 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on July 12, 2019

  Galatians 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.

  Living a life in the flesh by the faith of Jesus is my daily aim. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it or even look like it, but it’s the life I choose. Everything Jesus did He did for our example and He did well. In the flesh without being fleshy. That’s the life I desire and there are a few things I can do to make it happen. Today my blog is to highlight a few things that demonstrate Him living in me and through me.

  First, I believe it’s a life of deep and intimate fellowship with the Father. Jesus was known to be a person of prayer. (Matthew 14:23). And when He prayed things happened because He didn’t just say a lot of religious words, for Him, it was a place of prayer. A time to commune with God. A place of prayer that ceases to be about needs, and fears, and desires, that centers on the majesty of the Father. A place where communion is so sweet that all you want is more of Him and to give Him more of you.

  Let me be perfectly honest! That isn’t the case always. I am a praying woman, but I don’t always lose myself in His Presence and have a time of worship where I know I have communed with the Father. I know my prayer life is good, but deep in my heart, I want it to be so much more. I have experienced that place of communion where I have known His presence to enter my room and surround me, but I have to admit, not nearly as frequently as I could. Notice I wrote could and not should, because this is not a place of obedience but a place of adoration! When I think of the faith of Jesus, I always start here. His life of faith that He lived was developed through a deep communion with the Father!

  Secondly, loving others! A prayer that I pray more than I care to admit is Lord, help me to love like You love. Living this life by His faith deeply centers around loving people like He loved. John 3:16 is such a challenge to the believer. To love like He loved, to give my life (not on the cross) but in prayer and service for the kingdom, making a difference, impacting others, showing them the Father because I love them, not because I want to be able to testify that I led someone to Christ or I blessed someone. Is it a testimony? Yes! But the testimony should not be the motivation, only love when reaching out to people. His motivation for the cross and everything He did was love!

  Lastly, (only because I don’t like long posts), a life free of sin. He said that the devil had nothing in Him. (John 14:30) That’s a powerful statement to know that the devil has never been able to infiltrate your life or your heart with sin. Yes He was born without sin, but when we are born again, we are free of sin. (Romans 6:18)

  Letting Jesus’ faith live through us is allowing Him to keep us from sin, having His heart and His attitude about sin. No sin can be ok in our lives. We can have no place for lying, no place for cheating, no place for sexual immorality, no place for worldly acceptance, and the list can go on. Jesus was born free of sin but He chose not to live in it and not to allow to give any place to the devil. And then He freed us and told us that we are no longer slaves to sin and to give no place to the devil. That’s His life! That’s to be my life!

  This life that I now live in the flesh, I still live in the flesh much too much. Work, pleasure, church, and the cares of this world are always vying for my time, but I press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ! (Philippians 3:14) Paul wrote, walk in the Spirit and we’ll not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

  Therefore, if this life I now live in the flesh, I’m to live by the faith of the Son of God I am going to have to be a person of communion with God. Jesus still wants to commune with the Father and since He is in me, it’s what I am to do. Since He is living in me, love should be my life’s motivation. Not just with the people I like and whom like me; but simply allowing Him to love through me. And lastly, a life free from the domination of sin and the devil. Jesus still has dominion over sin and has given it to me, to you! We can allow Him to live His life through us in such a way that we too can make the claim that Paul made. Father, help us to live by the faith of Your precious Son! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Faith, freedom, Galatians 2:20, Jesus, love, Prayer, Victorious Living | 0 Comments | Tagged Faith, freedom, Galatians 2:20, Jesus, love, Prayer

• Somebody Prayed

  Posted at 5:01 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on March 16, 2019

  Ephesians 1:16- “Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers”

  As I was reading in Ephesians a couple of nights ago, this verse seemed to leap off the page, and I knew I would blog about it this week.

  As I was preparing for my day, and thinking about this verse, a song from many years ago came to mind:

  “Somebody prayed for me! Had me on their mind! Took some time to pray for me! I’m so glad they prayed! I’m so glad they prayed! I’m so glad they prayed for me!”

  Everyone loves it when they hear the words, “You were on my mind today and I prayed for you!” I know, because I have said the words often enough and seen the response; and I have also been the hearer of those words and felt such a sense of encouragement to know that the Father laid me on someone’s heart and they prayed for me.

  Paul, to me, was such a powerful witness of the Lord Jesus! He walked in incredible wisdom, started churches, trained ministers, spread the gospel, and walked in the supernatural anointing of God, and yet, he took time to pray for others. Regularly!

  There was a time in my life when people would ask me to pray for them and I would respond to them that I would, and then I would forget. But one day the Holy Spirit convicted me and I learned to stop and pray immediately, just so I could say that I did. Some times, even now, I am able to only give a short prayer because of when I hear something, but my heart is always to pray!

  As I have matured in Christ, and have grown in leadership responsibilities in ministry, I find that people come to my heart, or situations come to my ears and I have a burden to pray. Those are times I pray longer and more consistently. And of course, to see those prayers answered and to see those victories won are a true blessing.

  But Paul didn’t wait for situations to come, for needs to be presented to him, for prayer requests. No! Paul said that his prayers were motivated because he heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for the saints and therefore, he continuously prayed for them.

  Now, I am not there! In my prayer time, I admit that different pastors, ministers, leaders, friends, family members, co-workers, etc.; come to my mind and I pray for them. But I can’t say with fidelity that they are always in my prayers.

  As I meditate on this scripture it causes me to realize that if this was true of Paul, and he was super busy with all that he writes about, then it can become true about me. I can get to the point where I pray for the members of our congregation all the time, where I pray for my colleagues all the time, where I pray for my students all the time, where I pray for pastors, ministers, and church leaders all the time. And I can’t remember the last time I prayed for my followers! Shame on me! But again, I’m not there, yet! Of course, I am not able to say about all these people on my list that I have heard great things about their faith in the Lord Jesus or their love for all the saints, but…!

  Do I have to pray for the same people all the time when I pray? Do you? No! But it’s a goal for my prayer life to take time to pray regularly for others as I pray regularly for myself and my family. In this life, we all have tribulations (Jesus said so) and I have lived long enough to know it’s true. Knowing this, I find the thought that someone else has determined to keep me lifted in their prayers on a regular basis is encouraging and comforting! So I am determined to be used of God to return that encouragement!

  When was the last time you stopped what you were doing and prayed for someone other than you and your family? When was the last time you prayed for your pastor, your church congregation, your co-workers, or even your neighbors? If you can’t say it’s happened in the last week, take some time today and pray for them! Then tomorrow you can walk up to someone and say, “I had you on my mind, so I took some time to pray for you,” and watch them be encouraged by it! Then, feel that sense of being an encouragement. It will keep you praying! I am going to go and follow my own advice! I’ll meet you in the throne room of heaven as we pray for one another! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Ephesians study, Prayer, Victorious Living | 2 Comments | Tagged Prayer, Victorious Living

• How To Bring Spiritual Release

  Posted at 3:46 am by wonderfuljesus8, on February 11, 2019

  Exodus 17:6 – “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” KJV

  how-to-bring-spiritual-release_-1.mp3

  prayer-for-spiritual-release.m4a

  I was asked to do a teaching on the rewards of fasting. I can tell you now, I was not thrilled with the topic. Although I have seen some amazing things happen as a result of fasting and praying, lately, I had just lost my focus on this particular discipline.

  My husband and I were in a conversation about the diligence of other religious individuals, non-Christian, who fast and pray faithfully, and seemingly without complaint; but I have to admit I had begun to struggle with it. I know the great power that comes with fasting and prayer. But the thrill was gone.

  I know in part it is because we fast every year for 21 days in January and I celebrate both my birthday and my anniversary during that time. At first it was not a big deal, but as the years have passed, I had lost my inspiration for fasting and it had become something that I did because I was in leadership. Unless I had a situation that I knew would only change with fasting and prayer. (So all hope and inspiration wasn’t gone!)

  Of course, God knows how to hook us up and charge our faith better than man could ever do; and being given this assignment turned out to be my charging station.

  What charged my soul was the revelation that “physical obedience brings spiritual release!” Now I didn’t get this on my own. I heard Jentezen Franklin preach on fasting and praying and he mentioned it in his sermon. Then I studied it out and came away from it charged and delivered from the “bah humbug” of fasting and praying.

  In the above scripture, Moses was told by God to go to a rock, strike it with the rod, and water would come forth! Moses obeyed and water came forth! Not just a fountain of water but a spring of water that provided water for the people, their animals, cooking, bathing, laundering, and whatever else they needed water for at the time. Now if you don’t agree that was a spiritual release, go and strike a rock and see if you get water!

  This situation in the Old Testament was also a type and shadow of a New Testament event. Jesus’ crucifixion. He was struck on the cross and the living water that flows from Calvary today is truly a spiritual release. In Philippians 2:7-9, Paul wrote, “But (He) made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” Note: I added the (He) for clarity sake.

  Jesus’ act of physical obedience brought spiritual release to mankind; it brought our salvation. But it also caused Him to be highly exalted and given a name that is above every name. That act of obedience changed the course of mankind providing spiritual release even today.

  To tie it in to fasting and praying we need to look at Daniel. In Daniel 10 we learn about what we call the “Daniel fast”. Daniel fasted for 21 days, eating nothing pleasant (verse 3). The Hebrew word for pleasant in this verse is “hamad”. In verse 11, the angel calls him “Daniel, a man greatly beloved”. This word beloved in the Hebrew is the same word “hamad” that Daniel used when he said he ate no “pleasant” bread.

  His physical obedience of fasting, and we infer praying based on his lifestyle, caused a spiritual release in his life. As he gave up that which was pleasant, he became pleasant to the Heavenly Father. For me, this was a powerful eye opener.

  It’s not as if I didn’t know the power of fasting and praying, but for some reason, the reminder, and the way God has it written in His word in Daniel, got my attention pulling me out of the “I don’t like fasting mentality, to the I can’t wait to fast again!” So I did! Of course, in our Bible study I gave other examples, but I had more time then I like to take up in a blog.

  Before I close, let me just say that there are countless examples in the word of God of an individual obeying God physically and receiving from God physical and spiritual blessings that only He could bring about. If He did if for them, He will do it for us.

  One example in my personal life of fasting and praying, that I didn’t mention in my teaching happened several years ago and I have never forgotten it. As I was seeking the Lord because I just wanted more of Him, He manifested Himself to me. I was asleep and I dreamed. In the dream I was worshipping Him when His Glory filled the place I was in. The cloud was so thick that I could hardly see myself in the midst. In the dream He said, “I have anointed you.” I woke from the dream and I was truly in the Presence of the Lord. His Presence was so thick I got up from my bed and went to worship Him. This dream impacted my life.

  Although, He anointed me, and I have countless testimonies of His anointing on my life, I still leak. I still get to the place where my flesh rises up and lets me know it is time to fast and pray. Life will help you see it just as it helps me. Take some time in the near future and fast and pray that you might experience a spiritual release in your life. Wonderful Jesus!!

  Posted in Fasting, Prayer | 3 Comments

• ALL NIGHT LONG

  Posted at 2:43 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 20, 2018

  Luke 6:12 – Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

  Jesus was a praying man. The scriptures let us know that He prayed so much, that He even went without sleep to commune with the Father.

  Now I don’t know about you, but I have never found this to be an appealing way to pray. I love spending time with the Lord at night, hence my blog posts are done before I retire; but staying up all night to pray has never truly been an interest of mine. I think the latest I have ever stayed up in prayer is until 2 in the morning. 

  This past Friday was our third annual all night of prayer for the women of our congregation. There were some friends amongst us, but mostly the women were of our congregation. We gathered at 8 pm and actually ended around 330 am on Saturday morning because of some obligations on Saturday. There were over 80 women in attendance with a few teenagers in the mix. 

  We always have an agenda that consists of times of sharing from God’s word, worship, and of course, prayer. But this year we really wanted the Holy Spirit to lead the prayer meeting. So we spent time in prayer and fasting during the week. And He did. 

  As our assistant pastor set the stage and the theme of the night, you could actually feel the excitement building in our midst. Our primary focus was to pray for our children, but she let it be known that we would flow with the Holy Spirit!

  Our worship leader began with an exhortation of lifting our voices in praise to our God. One scripture that she used that really blessed me was Psalm 115:17-18 in the Living Bible:

  “The dead cannot sing praises to Jehovah here on earth, but we can! We praise him forever! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

  And did we praise Him! With much singing, playing of musical instruments and dancing before the King we gave praise. One sister danced so beautifully before the Lord that she ushered in a spirit of liberty. The atmosphere was set for faith filled praying!

  Immediately ministry began as people came to the altar to be free from the bondage’s that have been holding them back. And every time an exhortation was given, more prayer and ministry were released. We came to offer ourselves up as intercessors, but God met some of our personal needs in exchange.

  As we learned the things plaguing our children today, we cried out against those things keeping our children in bondage. We were united in our time and the night sped away as we sought the Father on behalf of our children. Not just our personal kids, but the children in our city also. There were so many wonderful exhortations that I cannot mention them all, but a great time was had by all! We even broke off into small groups and prayed for our personal needs and concerns.

  The night of prayer ended with communion and the lighting of candles. Now the communion was to serve as a reminder of the covenant we have in Jesus and a memorial unto Him. The candles were for unity sake, and it’s absolutely beautiful to see so many candles raised to the Lord on one accord. 

  As I mentioned, earlier, it was our third all night prayer and many felt it was the best one yet!

  Today in service we had several testimonies of healings that took place and of the impact of being in the prayer with so many women. I know that so much more happened that night in prayer and I eagerly await more fruit coming forth from it.

  All in all, as we took time out of our lives to meet with God all night long I can assure you that we were all glad that did. Wonderful Jesus!!

  Posted in Prayer | 0 Comments | Tagged Prayer, praying women

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