I've heard that you can tell how strong a church is by their prayer team. I've inquired of some churches and there is no prayer team or maybe just a handful of people who show up early before a service. Does that tell us something about where the church is right now as far as our strength in the Lord? How do we fulfill our ministry as a kingdom of priests if our prayer life is so shabby? (He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father.. Revelation 1:6)
(you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5) and (v. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.)
I could tell a difference when I had people praying for me when I went in for Lasik surgery and my grandson went in for laser surgery and others have told me the same thing. When the church was praying is after James was beheaded and Peter was next, and then the angels let Peter out of jail. (He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Acts 12:2-3)
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5
The one thing I do like about going to these Bible studies over on the northside or southside of town is I pray a lot in my car in my alone time with God. If I don't go than I stay home to pray.
I don’t meet many honest Christians. They like to hide a lot of things in their life like Judas stealing from the money bag. Jesus knew Judas was stealing, but he made him an accountant. Sort of similar to that famous singer Selena only Jesus knew he was stealing. He gave Judas every opportunity of coming forward for three years and say, "Jesus I've got a problem." Houston, It's Apollo 13 and we've got a problem." I'm checking in with mission control and I find I've got several problems in life..i.e.several unsolved mysteries, thorns in the flesh or twilight zone experiences in my life. David hid his sin of coveting his neighbor's wife, but God sent a prophet to call him out on his problem. David said, "You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you." Psalm 69:5
This is far beyond being negative in life, but this to admit we need help and support in life. Basically a stronghold in our life is something that we can't overcome in our strength. “I can use a life support right now.” Please don't pull the plug and give up on me, I'm still breathing.....LOL
I always like handing out those lifesaver candy boxes for Christmas presents when I was in school growing up. I could really use a life guard right now God, I’ll take one with a few muscles. If you ever saved a person’s life (two of my daughters were life guards), I understand it is an exhilarating feeling. In scuba diving they train you on how to rescue a person. There is training in the medical, police, fire department and those are fields that are dedicated to rescue people on an ongoing basis. I believe more Christians need training on how to rescue people spiritually.
If I could save someone from committing suicide that would be a rewarding experience and there have been a few ways in my life I made a difference in one person’s life. I got a Christian woman and her kids who was getting beat up by an alcoholic husband who kept promising to change his ways to get out of the situation at my church. She sent me a letter that she had left town and was living with a married couple. I just let her know that submission is not being a punching bag. At that time, I was the life support to her in helping her make the decision to get out of a bad relationship that was physically and emotional harmful to her small children and herself.
Christians may not understand good pain/bad pain. I know some people have become closer to the Lord in pain and became a Christian, but more times I’ve found the opposite. I’ve found people who are like the man beaten, stabbed and left on the side of the road for dead who need encouragement. Spiritual leaders pass them by. Even the widow woman who came to Elisha who lost her child was not being honest, “She said it is well with my soul.” But Elisha knew she was hiding something, he knew her soul was vexed. It was vexed because her son died.
But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the LORD has not told me what it is." 2 Kings 4:27
Gehazi was trying to push her away. Same thing happened to another Gentile woman who came to Jesus, others were trying to hold her back from reaching Jesus. Are you holding people back from reaching Jesus or are you encouraging people to come to Jesus with their problems? At the time, Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, not the Gentiles, but he stopped his mission because of this lady’s faith. There was a diversion of Jesus mission. What was the lady’s faith? She was persistent to get what she wanted from Jesus.
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Matthew 15:24-28
Hannah was vexed by an adversary because she wanted to have a baby and her husband’s other wife vexed her who had a child. Maybe people don’t understand being vexed in spirit, but I’ve experienced it on several occasions. Rachel was vexed by Leah having a child. Some vexations in life are people who have something that we don’t have. I know a woman who goes cries every time someone has children, but she can’t have children. The widow who came knocking on the unjust judge door was vexed and wanted justice from an adversary. Jesus said, “Don’t give up in your prayer requests.”
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long? Psalm 6:3
Some vexations in my spirit is over sin in some people’s life. That is what happened to Lot, he was vexed at people’s unrighteous deeds they did in public. (And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 2 Peter 2:7)
I would compare this to a travail in our Spirit. In order to birth something in the spirit realm, many times we first have to go through a travail of our soul. This is not an easy process. I know I went through around 24 hours of false labor in birthing a baby before the real labor pains set in. There is a travailing in the spirit realm to get what we want from God. I don’t quite understand it, but it’s a breaking through like Daniel did in prayer and it took 21 days for him to break through on his prayer requests before God.
The apostle said he travailed (again) that Christ would be formed in them. So apparently, there was first a travail for a person’s salvation and next there was a travail for other Christians. (My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you Galatians 4:19
I look at it as being an intercessor prayer warrior in life for others and also in our lives. Our high priest ever lives to make intercession for us and sometimes, I’ve broken out in a travail in my spirit for others. One time I broke out in groaning and weeping before God and I spoke to some relatives that were almost in a car accident that day it was at the exact same time that I broke out in this groaning in my spirit and weeping before God.
When Hannah was praying, the priest thought she was drunk, it’s a very deep intercession of the spirit for our needs and the needs of others. It says that God looked for an intercessor and when he could not find one, his own hand brought one. An intercessor is one that intervenes between God and man, it can be through prayer or it can be in life situations. (He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. Isaiah 59:16)
"God help me to be an intercessor."
When I intercede for others it’s like my high priest Jesus and I are praying together for his people’s needs in this world, I’m fulfilling the needs of a priest. (In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26) and (Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25)
I love dancing and praising God in all kinds of music like Miriam danced before the Lord. Here is a nice beat to praise God to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTSYdyLxqr0&feature=related
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