Look Up for the Battle is Truly the Lord's

I've always heard "God gives His hardest battles to His strongest warriors".  I believe that is true.  I'm sure that some of those warriors would not agree.  In fact I don't think those warriors felt like they were strong at all.

Let me back up and explain something first, actually a couple of things:

#1  Not every battle we face is because of God or because of our faith.  We bring some of our battles on ourselves.  i.e. bad choices, bad company, rebellion, neglect are just a few of the things that can get us into trouble.

#2  Our sole purpose on this earth is not to grow rich, grow famous, get married, have kids, have a career, etc.  Whatever prosperity we have is solely blessings from God, not what we deserve.  Our purpose is to bring honor and glory to God, our creator.
Shock!!!...  Do they tell you that in church.  Probably not.  Modern day churches preach as if God owes us something, when in fact it is just the opposite. We owe God EVERYTHING, literally.

Let's take a look back in history at some of God's warriors.  (These aren't in any particular order or if they happen to be it is purely accidental.  I am just listing them as they come to mind.)  

First, Job, he was a man dearly loved by God.  Did he do anything to cause the battles he endured?  One thing, he loved God.  He believed God.  His battles drew him even closer to God.  No matter what happened, he would not turn on God.  In fact, he said in Job 19:25-26, "As for me, I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on this earth.  Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God."

Can you imagine?  Job lost his children, all his livestock, his home, everything dear to him.  He had boils covering his body and yet HE DID NOT DENY GOD.
People tried to get him to admit he had done something to cause the curses that came on him.  They thought surely he had to have done something.  Job knew he hadn't but he knew God and he believed God.  He was a warrior, chosen by God.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace, DID NOT DOUBT GOD.  They told the king even if God did not save them, He was still God and they would not bow to another.    Daniel 3:16-18, 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

God's only son, Jesus, chosen by God Himself to be the one to die on the cross for us.  

Every instance of every warrior, their faith did not waiver.  When little David went up against the giant Goliath, he trusted God.  When Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, he trusted God.

That is why God gives His toughest battles to His strongest warriors because through the battle their faith remains.  There may be  lapses of weakness but their faith does not waiver.

The war is not against death, infirmities, cancer, aids, autism, etc.  The war is against the powers of darkness that would separate us from God if they could.   To name a few: the parents who have lost a child to sickness, disease or accident, keeping the faith that God will reunite them someday.  The person who has fought cancer or has a family member or loved one that fought or is fighting cancer, keeping the faith that if not cured in this life, they will be cured in eternity.  The person who stares down the barrel of a gun being told to deny God, that says, I will not deny my God even in the face of death.  The missionaries over seas who are killed, beheaded etc for their faith in God.   I doubt any of these warriors would tell you they were strong.  I am sure most of them would have said they could never make it through something like that.  But they have.  How do they fight?  What keeps them going?  God.  Their faith in God, their insistence that God will get the glory regardless, their belief that no matter what happens,  God is still God.

The next time you face a battle, remember that even when things are hardest God is right there with you.  

Philipians 4:13 says, " 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Not some things, but all things.  God has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  

I wish I could say the battles would be easy but if they were we wouldn't lean so much on God and we would lean too much on ourselves.  What I can say, with certainty, is that God will never leave you or forsake you.  God does not lie, what He says in His word He means.

Ending with this:  Ephesians 6:10-17, " 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

How did they all fight those battles, look up!

God bless.

Unlocking the Power of Prayer

Hebrews 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.
How do we diligently seek Him?  Prayer, constant communication.
James 5:16,Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Quite a lot of people believe you can only pray when you are kneeling, either with your head bowed and your hands folded or with your arms outstretched and looking upward (while still on your knees),  Screaming out and crying to God to make sure He hears you.  Stay with me, don't cut me off because you don't like what I just said and think well she's a flake because you can and do pray like this.  I am NOT saying this is not one way to pray, but I am saying this is ONLY one way to pray.   There are lots of ways and God hears every single one, whether you are crying out loud, screaming, whispering or having an internal talk with Him in your mind.   The key to prayer is diligence, frequency and especially faith!  The wonderful thing about God is that you can go to Him anytime, in any situation or circumstance and in any manner that you are able to do at that moment.  He doesn't care, all He cares about is that you are talking to Him.  Do you know He waits and longs for us to do that?  The key ingredient to ANY relationship is communication, how could it be any less with our loving Father, our creator?  
What I hope to share with you is some major points to help you increase or possibly have a more "effectual, fervent" prayer life.  That is my prayer for you and my leading from the Lord today.
Number 1, you can never be disqualified as a person of prayer so don't let anyone discourage you (including yourself).  Don't ever think you can't pray, if you can talk, you can pray.  Picture a loving Father who is always available, never ignores you, never rejects you, is never to busy for you and is always waiting for you.  Don't allow discouragement over an unanswered prayer to cause you to doubt that God has heard you.  If you have received His son Jesus and are praying in His name, (John 16:23, And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.), then God hears you, and something is happening, whether you can see it right at this moment or not.  He is on it!  Every time you pray, you are advancing God's purpose for you.  Our spiritual well-being depends on two kinds of regular prayer.  One is our prayer between us and God, the other is enlisting the prayers of other believers, praying for one another.  (Matthew 18:19, Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.)  We are not in this battle of life alone, God will fight every battle for us, but, we have to call on Him and believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.  Then we have other soldiers to go to battle with and for us and that is where prayer warriors come in.  Never be afraid to ask God for anything (in Jesus name) and never be afraid to ask someone to help you pray.  You don't have to tell them even specifically what it is, God knows, they just need to pray in agreement with you.  The other thing is seek to know the will of God so you can pray the will of God.   James 4:3, (KJV) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.  Or more simply put:  James 4:3 (NIV) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  That does not mean that God will not give you things you ask for, but we have to keep in mind that He will not (cannot) give us things that are contrary to His word.  If what we are praying and asking for goes against any of the ten commandments (God's laws) then we are praying amiss.  If we are praying harm against someone else, we are praying amiss.  You might wonder who would do that but unfortunately there are people who do.  If something we want would take something away from someone else or cause them distress or harm, we are praying amiss.  Sometimes we don't think of the consequences of our prayers on other people.  Because of the length of this blog, I am going to continue this later but I would like to leave you with this.
1) Speak to God anytime, anyplace.  2) It is important to have some quality alone time in prayer with God, (just keep in mind, that is NOT the only time you can talk to Him, so talk to Him quietly in your mind anytime, even if it's just to say, I love you!)  3)  Don't worry if you feel like you are or can only pray for yourself right then, praying for others will come, God knows your heart and feels your pain.  I don't want to reduce prayer to a routine, repetitive prayer or formula but here are a few suggestions to include in your prayer time:  1)  Tell Him how much you love Him, He never gets tired of hearing it, just like we don't get tired of hearing it.  2)  Thank Him for everything He has done for you, if you are particularly thankful for something, mention that specifically.  3)  Admit your dependence on Him, that you are powerless without Him and that you need His strength to make it through your situations.  4)  Confess anything you feel you have done wrong, if nothing comes to mind at that particular moment, just simply ask Him to forgive you where you may have sinned against Him and/or others.  5)  Ask Him for forgiveness for others and express your own forgiveness for harms or wrongs you feel others have done.  6)  Tell Him everything that is on your heart and mind, release it all to Him, good, bad, ugly, everything.  He is the One that you can trust with your inner most feelings and secrets and He won't go tell anyone.  7)  Give Him all your requests, all your needs, all your desires.  8)  Wait for Him to speak to your Heart, this requires allowing Him a little quiet time to speak to you also.  9)  Praise Him for His being in your life and everything He is and does.  Tell Him over and over how much you love Him if that is what your heart is feeling.  10)  You don't need fancy words, or eloquent speeches.  God knows your heart, He knows how you talk, how you think.  Be yourself, come to His throne humbly and with meekness, with an attitude of gratitude.  I've gone to Him at times when I didn't even feel like praying and my faith was weak and said, "Father, I love you but I can't feel You.  I want to pray but nothing is coming, help me, lead me, guide me, comfort me and hold me until I get through this.  Don't let go of me."  You know what?  He did!!!  Praise God.  My relationship and walk with Him is the most important thing in my life and there have been times when I wasn't even sure I could believe He would answer my prayers but those times I asked Him to hang on to me because I knew it would pass.  Those were my lowest valleys, we all have them, we are not alone.  He is with us.  What does it say in Psalms 23?, "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me", translators say this can also mean our darkest valley.  We have nothing to fear, we serve a powerful God who is fully capable to meet our every need, our every desire.  We only have to have faith the grain of a mustard seed, look at one sometime, see just how tiny it is.  Don't put limits on God and don't put limits on yourself and your communication with Him.  Constant, fervent prayer is simply put - constant communication.  Talk to Him like He is your parent, your best friend, your partner and standing right beside you, because He is.
In another blog I will list some reasons to pray (as if any of us need those, lol) and also an easy way to remember who to pray for.  If these help you praise God, if you already know them, praise God.
In love,
Til next time
God bless