Why worry?

I shall decree a thing

and it shall be established for me.

God inhabits the praises of His people.


I surround person / circumstances with faith.

I go to the foot of Calvary.  I look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross, bleeding and beaten up.  Why is He hanging there?  Because of person / circumstance.  I put person / circumstance right behind Jesus Christ.  I see person / circumstance through His spotted and speckled cross:  person forgiven, cleansed, born again, and filled with the Holy Spirit, circumstance made whole.  I draw that picture through the blood of Jesus Christ.  I keep that clear cut picture in my mind daily. The Holy Spirit can use me for His language is carried with a vision and a dream.  I know I am drawing the right kind of picture since I am coming to the foot of the cross.  I pray: Oh Lord, now You see this picture.  Dear Holy Spirit, flow into this new image, this new vision and dream.  Change.  Perform miracles. 

(Adapted from The Fourth Dimension by Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho).

___________________________

FOR ILL HEALTH:

I bind you, sickness, in Jesus name.  
I stop you in your tracks. 
Whatsoever I bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven.
I speak to the mountain of sickness.

In the Name of Jesus,

I curse you, sickness, at the roots

I command you, sickness, to die

in the name of Jesus,

wither away, vanish and disappear.

I take a stand of faith

and tell the devil he's a liar.

I believe God for a miracle

and He'll turn my situation around.

I talk faith.

I speak to the mountain of need

and the mountain will obey my words (Mark 11:23-24).

(excerpts from How to have the faith of God by R W Schambach).

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
sickness I am talking to you right now
and I want you to listen to me, sickness.
I'm telling you in Jesus name,
you remove yourself from my body
and you be cast in the depths of the sea.
I resist you, sickness, and I am telling you
go from me in Jesus name.  
You don't have any choice.
Your roots have been cursed in Jesus name
and you can't live in me.
My body belongs to God.

Holy Spirit, I declare right now that 
Jesus is my healer.  I am your child
and the Holy Spirit lives in me.
You are healing me right now.
And I thank you, Lord, for healing me.
Jesus, I love you.  You are my personal healer.
My faith is in You Jesus.
Through faith and patience I will inherit
the promises of God (Hebr. 6:12).
(extracts from Pleasing the Lord by Norvel Hayes).

___________________________

FOR FINANCES:

Satan take your hands off my finances.
Go ministering spirits and cause the money
(speak amount) to come in.
Thank God for it, it's coming.
(excerpts from How God Taught Me About Prosperity by Kenneth E Hagin) 

___________________________

1 Peter 5:7: Casting all my cares on You
for You care for me.

Mt:11:29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart: 
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mt:11:30: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

___________________________

Matthew 6:

Do Not Worry (Jesus' Words)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I WILL FEAR NO EVIL
FOR YOU ARE WITH ME
YOU WILL DELIVER ME

Answer me when I call to you, 
O my righteous God.  
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me
and hear my prayer.

From the Lord comes deliverance
May your blessing be upon me.

Give ear to my words O Lord
Consider my sighing

Listen to my cry for help

hear my weeping

hear my cry for mercy

Accept my prayer O Lord

My King and my God

For to you I pray.

I sought the Lord and he answered me,

He delivered me from all my fears.

Those that look to Him are radiant;

Their faces are never covered with shame.

I called and the Lord heard me;

He saved me out of all my troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him

and he delivers them.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.

The Lord be exalted
Who delights in the well being of his servant.

I sacrifice thank offerings to God...
and call upon You in the day of trouble;
You will deliver me and I will honour You.

I who sacrifices thank offerings honours God
And I prepare the way
So that God may show me the salvation of God.

Because I love You Lord
You will rescue me
You will protect me
for I acknowledge your name
I will call upon You, and You will answer me;
You will be with me in trouble.
You will deliver me and honour me.
With long life will You satisfy me
And show me Your salvation.

God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Father, 

You are love, all-loving
As Your child, I'm firmly trusting
In the goodness of Your heart.
Ever caring, You will guide me
In Your graciousness and mercy
Along pathways
I can tread.

Prayer by M.Basilea Schlink

___________________________

Merlin Carothers
Prison to Praise

Chapter 8

8. Praise Him!

Discovering the power in praise was one of the most exciting experiences I'd ever had; yet every time I wanted to share it with someone, it was as if God was saying: "Hold it. This isn't the time."

When Ron came to see me about his problem he was the picture of misery and despair. "Chaplain, you've got to help me. When I was drafted my wife tried to commit suicide. Now I've received orders for Vietnam, and she says that if I go she'll kill herself. What can I do?"

Ron was an attorney and a member of the bar association. But he had been drafted and preferred to join the Army as a Private. Now he was obviously distraught and unable to handle the situation with his wife.

"Ron, have your wife come in to see me, and I'll see what I can do."

Sue was also a picture of misery. Her body was frail and she sat on the edge of a chair, trembling from head to foot. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face.

"Chaplain." Her voice was barely audible. "I'm scared; I can't live without Ron."

I looked at her and a wave of compassion brought tears to my eyes. I knew Sue's story. She'd been adopted as a baby, was estranged from her adopted family, and had no one in the world except Ron. The two of them were very much in love and I knew that if Ron went to Vietnam, Sue would stay alone in a rented room in a strange town.

I prayed silently for wisdom to comfort her.

"Tell her to be thankful." I shook my head in disbelief. I must have heard wrong.

"Her, Lord?"

"Yes, you may begin to share with her!" I looked at Sue's tearful face and my heart sank.

"Okay, Lord, I'll trust You."

"Sue, I'm glad you came," I said, smiling with a confidence I didn't feel. "You don't have anything to worry about. Everything is going to be all right."

Sue straightened herself, wiped away her tears, and managed a trembling little smile.

I continued: "What I want you to do is to kneel here with me and thank God that Ron is going to Vietnam."

She looked at me in blank disbelief. I nodded. "Yes, Sue, I want you to thank God."

She immediately began to weep almost hysterically. I calmed her as best I could and began reading to her from the Bible the verses I had learned to trust in over the past few months.

"...In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you...All things work together for good to them that love the Lord." Carefully I tried to show her the wonderful truths I had found to be real.

Nothing seemed to help. Sue believed in God and in Christ, but in her despair her belief was of no comfort. Finally she left my office crying, with no peace of mind and certainly no joy.

"Lord, have I completely misunderstood You? That girl wasn't helped a bit."

"Patience, son. I'm working."

The next day Ron came to my office. "Chaplain, what did you tell Sue? She is worse than she was before."

"I told Sue the solution to her problem and now I'll tell you. I want you to kneel down and thank God that you're going to Vietnam and that Sue is so upset that she is threatening to kill herself."

Ron didn't see my point either. Carefully we went over the Scriptures: "...This is the will of God concerning you."

Ron said: "Now I understand why Sue didn't understand. I don't understand either." And he left.

Two days later they came back. "Sir, we are desperate. You must do something to help us."

They were both hoping that I as chaplain would be able to put in a plea for another assignment for Ron.  Again I explained to them the only solution God was letting me hold up before them. "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord."

"If you can only believe that God is really working this thing out for the best for both of you, then all you have to do is trust Him and begin to thank Him—regardless of what the situation looks like".

Ron and Sue looked at each other. "What do we have to lose, Honey?" Ron said. We knelt and Sue prayed:

"Lord, I thank you that Ron is going to Vietnam. It must be Your will. I sure don't understand, but I'll try."

Then Ron prayed: "Lord, this is very strange to me, too, but I trust You. Thank You that I am going to Vietnam and that Sue is so upset. Thank You that she might even try to hurt herself."

I had a feeling Ron and Sue were not as convinced as I was, but I thanked the Lord that they were trying.  They left my office, and later I heard what had happened.

Ron and Sue had gone into the chapel and knelt together at the altar. There they had turned their lives and each other over to God in a deeper commitment than ever before and now Sue had the strength to pray: "God, I thank You that Ron is going to Vietnam. You know how much I will miss him. You know I don't have a father or mother or brother or sister or family of any kind. I will trust You, Lord."

Ron prayed: "God, I do thank You. I give Sue over to You. She is Yours and I'll trust You to take care of her."

With that they rose from the altar. Ron went through the chapel and headed for his unit while Sue came back to the waiting room next to my office. She needed to sit quietly and collect her thoughts. While she sat there a young soldier came in and asked for the chaplain. Sue told him that I was busy. "But if you wait a little while, I'll tell him you're here," she offered.

"I'll wait," said the young soldier. He looked distressed and Sue asked: "What is your problem?"

"My wife wants a divorce."

Sue shook her head: "It won't do much good to see that Chaplain," she said, but the soldier wasn't easily discouraged, and while they were waiting he took out his billfold and began to show Sue pictures of his wife and children. When he turned to the next picture Sue screamed: "Who is that?"

"That's my mother".

"That is my mother", said Sue, shaking with emotion.

"That couldn't be," the soldier replied. "I don't have a sister."

"It is; I know it is!"

"What makes you think that?"

"When I was a little girl I happened to find a piece of paper in my parents' desk that showed I was adopted. In the upper right-hand corner was a picture of my real mother. That's her. It's the same lady."  And it was.

Further checking revealed that Sue had been promised for adoption before she was born and her natural mother had never seen her. She had no idea where Sue was and had never heard anything about her since the day she was born.

Now Sue had a brother, a real brother, and with him came a whole family.

Was it coincidence? There are more than two hundred million people in the United States. What would be the odds against that particular soldier walking in the door to my office just as Sue had made a covenant with God to praise Him for her loneliness and lack of family?

But that wasn't all. As Ron walked back into his unit, he ran into an old friend from law school who was now a legal officer.

"Hi, old buddy, where are you going?" he said as he met Ron.

"Praise God, I'm going to Vietnam," Ron answered. They talked some more, and the friend persuaded Ron to ask for a transfer so that he could work with him in the legal office.  Ron and Sue did not have to be separated. And no longer did Sue have to cling to Ron in fear of losing Him. She had come to have a joyous confidence in Jesus Christ and went about everywhere praising Him.

Later an Officer Candidate came to my office. He openly wept for a long time. "Sir, you must help me. My wife has been asking for a divorce. Her lawyer has just sent me the papers to sign. I just can't keep on with the Officer Candidate program. I don't even want to stay in the Army. Please help me."

"I know just how to get your problem solved. Let's kneel down and thank God that your wife wants a divorce."

He didn't understand any better than Sue and Ron did. Carefully we went over the Scriptures together. At last he decided he might as well try it. We knelt together and he prayed, turning the whole situation over to God and thanking Him for having allowed it to happen.

When he returned to his unit he was so shaken emotionally that they gave him the rest of the day off. He went to his bed and lay there, repeating over and over, "Thank you, Lord, that my wife wants a divorce. I surely don't understand it, but Your Word says I should thank You for all things, so I'll do it." All day long he thought the same things over and over. That night he couldn't sleep, so he went on thanking God. The next day he went through training in a daze. "Lord, You know I don't understand, but I thank You anyhow."

That evening he was sitting in the mess hall having dinner. As he was eating, it suddenly hit him. "Lord, you really must know what is better for me, much more than I do. I know all of this must be your will. Thank You, Lord; now I understand!"

At that moment another candidate tapped him on the shoulder and told him to come to the telephone.

In all the weeks he'd been a candidate, no one had ever wanted him on the phone.

When he lifted the receiver there was someone weeping on the other end. "Honey, can you ever forgive me? I don't want a divorce!"

A lady came reluctantly to see me. One of her friends had almost dragged her into my office. She told me that she had seriously been considering suicide, but didn't see what good it would do to talk about it.

Little by little she gave me the details. Her husband had fathered an illegitimate child by another woman. The child was being kept by her husband's parents. Every time she went to visit her in-laws, there was the child. To make things worse, the child's mother usually showed up at the same time. Even though they were having financial difficulties, her husband was sending money to his parents to help take care of his illegitimate child. She couldn't live with this constant pain inside anymore.

"Don't worry," I said to her. "You won't have to; there is a solution to your problem."

She looked up, rather surprised. "What is it?"

"Let us kneel here and thank God that your husband fathered this child." Again I went over the Scriptures on thanking God for all things. Wiping away her tears, she finally agreed to try it. We prayed, and she left the office determined to let God work out the problems in her life.

The next morning I called to see how she was doing.

"Wonderful!"

"You are?"

"Yes, Sir, I got up this morning just filled with joy!"

"What happened?"

"When I got home yesterday I began to think what I could do now that I am thankful for my husband's baby. I decided that if I was really thankful, I ought to do something about it. So I sat down and wrote a check to my in-laws and told them to use it for the baby. This morning I feel absolutely glorious."

The next day I called her again, and she said: "I feel even better than yesterday."

"What have you done now?"

"I started thinking of a lady who lives near me who has a retarded child. I went to see her this morning and asked if I could help with the child. She was so amazed she didn't know what to say. I stayed and started to do what I could."

"Do you know what to do for a retarded child?"

"Yes, Sir. I have a master's degree in working with special children."

"Have you worked with children since you graduated?"

"No, Sir. This is the first child I've ever worked with."

"Now do you understand why God permitted that thing to happen in your life?"

"Yes, Sir, I do, and now I really praise Him!"

From that day on she was a changed woman. Those who knew her before said she had always looked and acted as if she was in great pain. Now they say she looks and acts as though she has discovered some wonderful secret, and people are being drawn to Christ through her radiance and joy.

Jesus didn't promise to change the circumstances around us, but He did promise great peace and pure joy to those who would learn to believe that God actually controls all things.

The very act of praise releases the power of God into a set of circumstances and enables God to change them if this is His design. Very often it is our attitudes that hinder the solution of a problem. God is sovereign and could certainly cut across our wrong thought patterns and attitudes. But His perfect plan is to bring each of us into fellowship and communion with Him, and so He allows circumstances and incidents which will bring our wrong attitudes to our attention.

I have come to believe that the prayer of praise is the highest form of communion with God, and one that always releases a great deal of power into our lives. Praising Him is not something we do because we feel good; rather it is an act of obedience. Often the prayer of praise is done in sheer teeth-gritting willpower; yet when we persist in it, somehow the power of God is released into us and into the situation. At first in a trickle perhaps, but later in a growing stream that finally floods us and washes away the old hurts and scars.

One Army wife came to me, convinced that her problem had but one solution.

Her husband had developed an excessive drinking problem and for the past several years had been an alcoholic. Often he would pass out drunk on the living room floor where the wife or his teen-age children would find him, stark naked. In this condition he'd also been found in the hallway of the apartment house where several other families lived.

In final desperation the wife decided to take the children and leave. Friends persuaded her to at least come talk to me first.

"Whatever you say, Chaplain, don't tell me to stay with him," she said. "I just can't do it."

I don't really care whether you stay with him or not," I said. "I just want you to thank God that your husband is like he is." Carefully I explained what the Bible had to say about thanking God for all things and that if she tried it, God would be able to solve her problem in the best way.

She thought it sounded ridiculous, but finally agreed to kneel while I prayed that God would release in her enough faith to believe that He is a God of love and power who holds the universe in His hand.

At last she said, "I do believe."

Two weeks later I called her.

"I feel absolutely marvelous," she said. "My husband is a different man. He hasn't had a drink in two weeks."

"That's wonderful," I said. "I'd like to talk to him."

"What do you mean?" She sounded surprised.

"I just think it would be good if I talked to your husband about the power that is working in your lives."

"Didn't you tell him already?" She sounded puzzled.

"No, I haven't met him yet."

"Chaplain, this is a miracle," she cried out. "The day I was in your office he came home from work and for the first time in seven years he didn't go to the refrigerator for a beer. Instead he went into the living room and talked to the children. I was sure you had talked to him."

Our prayer of praise had released God's power to work in another person's life. The wife was openly crying over the telephone.

"Praise God, Chaplain," she sobbed, "Now I know God works out every detail of our lives."

A young soldier collapsed with a serious heart problem and was taken to the Fort Benning Hospital. He was released, but had to come back for frequent checkups and eventually was scheduled to go to another hospital for heart surgery. The news filled him with despair, and he began drinking. His despair increased until he decided to leave. He stole clothes from some of the men in the barracks and took off in the First Sergeant's car, which he wrecked totally.

The unhappy soldier was caught and put in the stockade to await trial. There another soldier led him to Christ. I went to see him, and he was still feeling depressed and afraid that he had messed up his life so thoroughly that he couldn't be of any use to anyone.

"Your sins are forgiven and forgotten," I said. "Don't think of your past as a chain around your neck. Thank God for every detail of your life and believe He has permitted all of these things in order to bring you to the place where you are now."

Together we searched the Scriptures for God's word on all things working out for those who love Him.

"And that doesn't just mean things that happen after you've asked God to take over your life," I said. "God is able to use even our past mistakes and failures when we release them to Him with thanksgiving."

He understood, and began to thank God in earnest for everything that had happened. As his trial neared, his defense attorney told him the best he could hope for was a five-year sentence and dishonorable discharge. The soldier remained undaunted and insisted that whatever happened, God had full control of his life and would work out whatever would be for his good.

The General Court-martial had a surprise ending. General Court-martial is never held unless the military authorities believe that the crime warrants severe punishment. This soldier was sentenced to six months in the local stockade and no discharge from the Army.

With Chaplain Curry Vaughan I went to visit him in the stockade. We thought we were there to encourage him; instead he encouraged us. He was filled with joy and it was catching. Soon the stockade rang with our laughter. The young soldier couldn't stand still; he laughed and ran and skipped around the visiting room.

Before we got ready to leave we asked how he was feeling. He had been scheduled for heart surgery and medically speaking was still in need of attention. He confessed that he felt very weak physically, and often his heart was troubling him. But he said: "It is wonderful. God is taking care of me."

We asked if he would like prayer for healing and he said:

"Please do; I believe God will heal me."

We placed our hands on him and believed that God, through Christ, was right there healing him. The soldier smiled radiantly and said: "I believe it is done."

A few weeks later I talked to the man's Company Commander.

"I believe it's a waste of government money to keep this man in the stockade."

"Why, Chaplain?" he said.

"He isn't the same man who stole clothes and a car and wrecked it. He's completely changed."

The Commander agreed and had the man released. A week later I asked him how he felt.

"Chaplain, I used to get tired after walking one hundred yards. Now I can run and I never seem to get tired. God has healed me."

Wherever I went I now shared what I had discovered about the power of praise. I was beginning to learn that praise was not just a form of worship or prayer, but also a way of waging spiritual warfare. Often when someone began to praise God for the problems that faced him, he found that Satan increased his attacks and the situation appeared to become worse instead of better. Many who tried the way of praise became discouraged and were unable to hold on to their belief that God was in charge.

Others simply didn't understand and refused to try praising God for unpleasant things. "It just doesn't make sense," they'd say. "I'm not going to praise God for something I just don't believe He as anything to do with. How can God have anything to do with my broken arm or my wrecked car or my husband's horrible temper? I'd be foolish to thank Him for something like that."

Of course it doesn't make sense. The question is, does it work? It didn't make much sense when Jesus said, "Leap for joy when you are hungry or poor or persecuted." Yet He very definitely told us to do just that. In Nehemiah 8:10 I read: "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

The enemy's arrows just can't penetrate the joy of someone who is praising the Lord. In II Chronicles 20 we read how a whole army was defeated when the Israelites simply praised the Lord and believed Him when He said that the battle wasn't theirs, but His.

The message is just as clear today. The battle isn't ours; it is God's. While we praise Him, He sends our enemies scurrying.

It was discouraging and sad to see those who refused to praise the Lord. My heart ached for them in their hopeless situations of suffering and misery. I asked God to give me wisdom to understand why they couldn't accept the way of praise, and also asked Him to teach me better ways of leading others to praising Him.

Nearly seven months after I first had the experience of laughing with joy in the Spirit, I went to a Camp Farthest Out Retreat. I was looking forward to a time of resting and rejoicing in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.

While I sat in the back of the auditorium during a healing service, I closed my eyes and on the screen of my inner vision God painted a picture.

I saw a beautiful, bright summer day. The air was filled with light, and I had a sense of everything being very beautiful. Up above was a heavy, solid black cloud beyond which nothing could be seen. A ladder extended from the ground up into the black cloud. At the base of the ladder were hundreds of people trying to get a chance at climbing the ladder. They had heard that above the blackness there was something more beautiful than anything a human eye had ever seen, something that brought unbelievable joy to those who reached it. As person after person tried to ascend they quickly climbed to the lower edge of the clouds. The crowd watched to see what would happen.

In a short while the person would come wildly sliding down the ladder and fall into the crowd scattering people in all directions. They reported that once they got into the blackness they lost all sense of direction.

My time finally came, and as I made my way up the ladder into the blackness it grew so intense that I could feel its power nearly forcing me to give up and slide back. But step by step I continued upward until suddenly my eyes beheld the most intense brightness I had ever seen. It was a brilliant whiteness too glorious to describe in words. As I came out above the dark cloud I realized that I could walk on top of it. As I looked into the brightness I was able to walk without difficulty. When I looked down to examine the nature of the cloud I immediately began to sink. Only by looking at the brightness could I stay on top.

Then the scene changed and I was back looking at all three levels from a distance.

"What does it all mean?" I asked, and the answer came:

"The brightest sunshine below the cloud is the light that many Christians live in and accept as normal. The ladder is the ladder of praising Me. Many try to climb and learn to praise Me in all things. At first they are very eager, but when they get into things that they don't understand they become confused and cannot hold on. They lose faith and go sliding back. As they fall, they injure other people who have been hoping to find a way to live in continual joy and praise.

"Those who make it through those difficult times reach a new world and realize that the life they once thought of as normal cannot be compared to the life I have prepared for those who praise Me and believe that I carefully watch over them. He who reaches the light of the heavenly kingdom can walk on top of difficulties no matter how dark they may seem as long as he keeps his eyes off the problem and on My victory in Christ. No matter how difficult it may seem to trust Me to work in every detail of your life, keep clinging to the ladder of praise and move upwards!"

I was half-dazed by the vision and the explanation and wondered how soon God would let me share it with someone.

At the camp I met a woman who was faced with problems of illness and family difficulties at home. She found it hard to believe that praising God was going to do any good.

Inwardly I asked for guidance, and God said, "Tell her!"

So I told her. "You'll be the first one to hear this," I said, and as she listened I could see how the heaviness literally left and her face and eyes lit up with a look of joyous expectancy.

In Ephesians, chapters one and two, I found my vision described in slightly different words by Paul:

"...Blessed (Praised!) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ...he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame...To the praise of the glory of his grace...that in...the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ...That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ...that you may know...what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion...And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Jesus Christ is raised above all the powers of darkness, and according to God's word, our rightful inheritance is right there above the darkness together in Christ. The ladder is praise!

I was becoming more aware of the power of praise, but also aware of some of the enemy's snares.

At the time I began to search my Bible for insight into praise I was also led to Scriptures describing the power we have received in Christ over the forces of darkness. I had long been aware of the passage in Mark 16 where Jesus

155 Prison to Praise

speaks of the signs that will follow those who believe in Him:

"In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

I had prayed asking God to show me if this was all valid for me in the twentieth century, and if it was, when and how to use it.

I found that I often became uneasy when I was around certain people, and asking God, I got the strong impression that what was wrong with them was of a demonic nature.

I prayed that if I ever came face-to-face with someone like that during a prayer-session that God would tell me what to do.

An Army wife was deserted by her husband who left her with three children. In desperation she tried to kill herself. She was rushed to the hospital and her life was saved. Friends brought her to see me after she got home. She was the picture of despair. Her friends had told me that for several years they had never seen her smile. I began speaking to her about the way of praising God but soon felt compelled to stop. I looked into her eyes and suddenly sensed that there was something very wrong and very evil within her.

Within me was a sense of fear; I realized that I was actually face-to-face with evil.

"Lord," I prayed within. "I've come this far, I can't go back now, so I'll step out in faith trusting that You'll do the work."

Looking straight into the woman's eyes I spoke out loud commanding the vicious spirit to get out of her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His shed blood.

Her glassy eyes suddenly cleared, and she could listen as I explained that God could work all things for good if she would only trust and praise Him.

She now was free to understand, and smiled with a beautiful radiance. Jesus Christ had broken the bondage of darkness that had threatened her life.

Chaplain Curry Vaughan, Jr., had begun to experience the power of praise in his own life. Soon after he had started praising God for his difficulties, he arrived home one evening to learn that his two-year-old daughter had swallowed a glassful of mineral spirits, a type of high-grade turpentine. She had already been rushed to the hospital. Curry jumped into his car and raced full speed to be with her. His mind was swirling with thoughts of fear and worry. He suddenly realized what he was doing, slowed the car to normal speed, and praised the Lord for what had happened.

At the hospital they pumped out his daughter's stomach, x-rayed her and told Curry that two things were bound to happen. First, she would run a high fever that night; second, there was a ninety-five percent chance that she would develop pneumonia.

Curry and his wife Nancy took their daughter home, prepared to watch her very closely as the doctors had ordered.  At home Curry took his daughter in his arms and prayed: "Heavenly Father, I know that Satan has tried to attack me once again, and I have praised You! Now I claim in the name of Jesus that Virginia will not get a fever and she will not get pneumonia." The next morning Virginia woke up as bright and chipper as ever. She had suffered no ill effects.

A successful businessman came to see me about his teen-age daughter. I knew the family and knew that their daughter had received more than the average amount of love and care, yet she had developed a violent hatred of her younger sister. She would lash out and strike her with whatever heavy object she could find.

The distraught parents had taken her to the psychiatrist for treatment, kept her on tranquilizers and prayed for years that God would help them find a solution to their terrible problem.

They realized the danger as the violent outbursts increased.

I met with both parents and challenged them to try the one thing they had failed to do.

"What is that?" they both asked.

"Thank the Lord that He has given you this child to meet your need. Really praise Him for knowing exactly what would be the greatest blessing to your family."

At first they thought this was completely beyond what they could do. They had tried for years to solve the problem, and knew of no way to suddenly be glad that everything was exactly the way it was. We went through the Scriptures together and then prayed that God would work a miracle and help them to thank Him.

A miracle did happen. They began to feel and be thankful. They practiced this daily for two weeks. Instead of constant worry and fear they experienced peace and joy.

One evening they were in the living room. Their oldest daughter stood in the middle of the floor holding a potted flower. She looked at them, and when she had their attention she smiled and dropped the pot in the middle of the rug. Dirt, glass and flowers went in all directions. The girl stood smiling, waiting for their reaction. Both parents had given themselves so completely to the practice of praising God that they automatically said, at the same time: "Thank You, Lord."

The daughter looked at them in amazement. Then she lifted her head and, looking toward heaven, she said: "Thank You, Lord, for teaching me." From that very moment she began to get well.

Her parents came to me rejoicing. The power of praise had worked. For years Satan had held the family in bondage through that girl. Now his spell was broken. In James we read that we are to draw near to God and resist Satan. In Romans 12:21 Paul describes how:

"Don't allow yourself to be overpowered by evil. Take the offensive—overpower evil with good!"

Some have asked me if this principle of praise isn't just another way to talk about the power of positive thinking. Far from it. Praising God for every circumstance does not mean we close our eyes to the difficulties. In his letter to the Philippians Paul says to worry about nothing, but

"In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Looking only at the good side of every situation is often a dangerous way of trying to escape the reality of it. When we praise God we thank Him for our situation, not in spite of it.

We are not trying to avoid our dilemmas. Rather Jesus Christ is showing us a way to overcome them.

There is a ladder of praise and I believe that everyone without exception can begin to praise God right now in whatever situation he may find himself.

For our praise to reach the perfection God wants for us, it needs to be free of any thoughts of reward. Praise is not another way of bargaining with the Lord. We don't say, "Now we've praised You in the middle of this mess, so get us out of it!"

Praising God with a pure heart means we must let God cleanse our hearts from impure motives and hidden designs. We have to experience the dying to self so that we can live again in Christ in newness of mind and spirit.

Dying to self is a progressive journey, and I have come to believe it is traveled only through praise.

God is calling us to praise Him, and the highest form of praise is the one Paul exhorts us to give in Hebrews 13:15:

"By (Christ) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name."

The sacrifice of praise is offered when all is darkness around us. It is offered of a heavy heart, unto God because He is God and Father and Lord.  As we begin to praise Him, on whatever step of the ladder we may be, His Holy Spirit begins to fill our beings more and more.

To continually praise Him means a steady decreasing of self and an increase of the presence of Christ within us until with Peter we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

___________________________

You inhabit the praises of Your people

Paul and Silas were in prison praising You, Lord
and You sent an earthquake to let them out.
I praise You, O Lord
I praise You

Answer me, O Lord
I praise You

Only the perfect will of God

will be done in your life
in every area
And you say:  it looks opposite
in fact, you say:  it couldn't look more opposite
in fact, you say:  it looks impossible
BUT GOD SAYS
BUT GOD SAYS
Only the perfect will of God will be done in your life
in every area...
Just you watch
Just you watch
and SEE WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU...     
(PROPHETIC WORD FROM A PROPHET /PASTOR)


GOD SAYS:
Do you believe that I can do this?
YOU REPLY:
Yes God, I believe that You can do this
And God does it
I cry out to you from the ends of the earth
I cry out to You Who fulfills your purpose for me
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

John G Lake

Quotes
 

IF I COULD BRING TO YOU TODAY ONE BLESSING … IT WOULD BE THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF TRUST IN GOD.  ‘BE NOT AFRAID, NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED:  FOR THE LORD THY GOD IS WITH THEE WITHERSOEVER THOU GOEST.  (JOSHUA 1:9)

… THE FLASH AND FLAME AND CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE MASTER SON OF GOD … O BLESS GOD FOR THE REVELATION OF THE LIVING CHRIST IN THE SOULS OF MEN THAT LIFTS THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MEN FROM THE PLACE OF DEFEAT IN TO THE PLACE OF POWER, THE EXALTANT, PRESENT MIGHTY POWER OF THE LIVING GOD.

From the Lord comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on me.

  CHRISTIAN BLOGGIT: HELP LIST

Louie Giglio: Symphony (I Lift My Hands) HIGH PRAISES ... - christian bloggit christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../louie-giglio-symphony-i-lift-my-hands...		when his wounded hands touched mine - christian bloggit christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../when-his-wounded-hands-touched-mi...
CHRISTIAN BLOGGIT: PEACE I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../peace-that-passes-all-understanding.ht...		christian bloggit: he will do it for you, he will carry you through christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../he-will-do-it-for-you-he-will-carry-yo...
CHRISTIAN BLOGGIT: I THE LORD DO NOT CHANGE christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../i-lord-do-not-change-i-lord-do-not.ht...		christian bloggit: in perfect faithfulness you do marvelous things for me christian-bloggit.blogspot.com/.../o-lord-my-god-as-high-as-theheavens

_____

 

PRAYING OUT YOUR FUTURE

BY MARK BRAZEE

KENNETH COPELAND MAGAZINE: BELIEVER’S VOICE OF VICTORY DECEMBER 200(2)?

INSTEAD OF RUNNING INTO DISASTERS AND WONDERING WHAT TO DO,

YOU CAN PRAY OUT YOUR FUTURE

AND LET THE GOD WHO GOES BEFORE YOU PREPARE THE WAY

GOD IS A GOOD INVESTOR.  HE DOESN’T JUST LIVE FROM DAY TO DAY - HE IS ALWAYS PLANNING AHEAD TO BE PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE.

THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS WAS THE LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.  WHAT DOES THAT TELL US?  EVEN BEFORE SIN CLAIMED ITS FIRST CAPTIVE, GOD THE FATHER HAD ALREADY PREPARED A WAY OF ESCAPE. 

GOD IS ALWAYS RELEASING HIS FAITH TO MEET A FUTURE NEED.  SINCE WE ARE TO BE IMITATORS OF GOD, WE NEED TO DO THE SAME THING: PLANT FAITH FOR THE FUTURE.

YEARS AGO, I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THAT TWO THINGS MUST OCCUR BEFORE FAITH CAN GROW:  FIRST, WE MUST FEED ON THE WORD OF GOD TO HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR GROWTH.  SECOND, WE MUST PLANT OUR FAITH WHERE IT CAN GROW.  WHEN I SAW THAT TRUTH, I THOUGHT, WELL, IF I WANT MY FAITH TO WORK OUT THERE AHEAD OF ME IN A SITUATION 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, I MIGHT AS WELL GO AHEAD AND PLANT THAT SEED NOW AND GIVE IT 10 YEARS TO GROW.

HOW DO WE PLANT OUR FAITH?  BY SAYING.  WHEN GOD REVEALED THAT TO ME, I STARTED PLANTING MY FAITH FOR OPEN DOORS THROUGH EASTERN EUROPE NATIONS.  I PLANTED MY FAITH FOR WISDOM AND DIRECTION, BUILDING FACILITIES, TRANSPORTATION OF EVERY KIND AND FINANCES IN ABUNDANCE, SAYING: ‘MY GOD SHALL ALWAYS SUPPLY ALL MY NEED.  GOD IS WORKING IN ME BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO HIS GOOD PLEASURE.  I SAY THAT ACCORDING TO MARK 11:23, I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT TO DO, WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO SAY.  I ALWAYS KNOW THE WILL OF GOD.’ 

I STARTED SAYING THAT LONG BEFORE I HAD ANY IDEA WHAT IN THE WORLD I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING!  I PLANTED MY FAITH ALL OVER THE WORLD.  TODAY, MORE THAN 20 YEARS LATER, I’M STILL REAPING THE HARVEST FROM THOSE SEEDS.  WE PRAYED OUT NEARLY EVERY CITY IN THE NATION WHERE WE CURRENTLY HAVE BIBLE SCHOOLS.  IN MOST CASES, WE KNEW THE NAME OF THE CITY SIX TO 12 MONTHS BEFORE IT WAS EVEN TIME TO START THE SCHOOL.  BUT I’VE LEARNED THAT JUST AS YOU CAN PLANT FAITH FOR YOUR FUTURE, YOU CAN SEND OUT PRAYER AHEAD INTO YOUR FUTURE.

A STEP AHEAD IN PRAYER

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CRUISING ALONG IN LIFE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU RUN STRAIGHT INTO A BRICK WALL SOMEWHERE IN A SITUATION OR PROBLEM?  AT ONE POINT IN MY LIFE, I BEGAN TO FEEL AS THOUGH I WAS GETTING A FLAT SPOT ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD FROM JUST RUNNING ALONG AND HITTING THOSE BRICK WALLS.  THEN, I’D HAVE TO BACK UP, FALL ON MY FACE AND START CALLING OUT TO GOD, ‘LORD, WHAT AM I TO DO?’. 

WE’VE ALL HAD TO PRAY THROUGH ‘BRICK WALL-LIKE’ SITUATIONS.  BUT I’VE DISCOVERED THAT GOD WILL MEET YOU ON WHATEVER LEVEL YOU CHOOSE TO TRUST HIM.  I DECIDED THAT INSTEAD OF REPEATEDLY RUNNING INTO BRICK WALLS, FALLING ON MY FACE SAYING, ‘OH, WE’VE GOT TO PRAY THROUGH THIS THING!’ I WOULD BACK UP AND FIND OUT WHERE GOD HAD ALREADY BEEN KNOCKING A HOLE THROUGH THAT WALL FOR ME.

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, THE SPIRIT OF GOD SPOKE QUIETLY TO MY HEART AND SAID, YOU’RE A HALF STEP BEHIND.  I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE MEANT.  I WAS A HALF STEP BEHIND IN PRAYER.  LATER HE SAID, YOU’RE A STEP BEHIND.  WELL, AT THAT POINT, WE GATHERED SOME FRIENDS TOGETHER AND HAD A TWO DAY PRAYER MEETING.  WE NOT ONLY CAUGHT UP THE STEP, WE GOT A STEP AHEAD.  THEN IT OCCURRED TO ME, IF I CAN CATCH UP TO WHERE I NEED TO BE IN PRAYER, WHY NOT JUST GET MY PRAYERS WORKING AHEAD OF ME?

I DISCOVERED THAT IN DEUTERONOMY 1:30-33 GOD TOLD ISRAEL HE WAS THE GOD WHO WENT BEFORE THEM, DRIVING OUT THE ENEMY AND SHOWING THEM WHERE TO PITCH THEIR TENTS.  FINALLY, I REALISED THAT GOD HAD NEVER CHANGED.  HE IS THE GOD WHO WILL GO BEFORE ME!  AND HE WILL GO BEFORE YOU, TOO!

SINCE GOD IS THE ONE WHO GOES BEFORE YOU, THE WAY TO FIND THIS PREPARED PATH IS BY PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST.  YOU CAN PRAY OUT YOUR FUTURE BEFORE YOU GET THERE BY GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT, PRAYING IN OTHER TONGUES.  WHEN YOU START CO-OPERATING WITH THE HOLY GHOST, HE WILL HELP YOU PRAY THINGS OUT DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS, EVEN YEARS AHEAD OF TIME. 

THE HOLY GHOST WILL HELP YOU PRAY THINGS OUT IN ADVANCE.  AS A RESULT, LIFE GETS A LOT EASIER.  INSTEAD OF PANIC ATTACKS GOING ON ALL THE TIME, LIVING FROM DISASTER TO MIRACLE TO DISASTER TO MIRACLE, YOU CAN JUST WALK WITH GOD AND WALK IN THE MIRACULOUS. 

I’VE FOUND THAT IF I KEEP MY PRAYER LIFE ACTIVELY FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE, WHEN I ARRIVE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS, INSTEAD OF COLLAPSING IN A PANIC MY FAITH STANDS STRONG.  WHY?  BECAUSE I’M CONFIDENT IN THE GOD WHO GOES OUT BEFORE ME.  I KNOW THAT HE HAS ALREADY BEEN THERE AHEAD OF ME WORKING IT OUT.

THE GOD WHO GOES BEFORE

IN THE EARLY 1980’S, GOD GAVE MY WIFE, JANET, AND ME A VISION FOR THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE.  HE SHOWED US A MAP OF EUROPE WITH FIRES BURNING THROUGHOUT THE NATIONS.  GOD BEGAN DEALING WITH US TO ESTABLISH A NETWORK OF TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR MINISTERS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 

GOD HAD ALREADY GONE BEFORE ME TO SET THE WHOLE THING UP.  BUT WHEN HE WAS DEALING WITH ME, I TOLD HIM, ‘GOD, I THINK YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON THIS TIME.  I’VE NEVER SET UP A SCHOOL BEFORE.  I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO IT.  I AM CLUELESS. ‘  THEN GOD SPOKE UP AND SAID, THAT’S WHY I TOLD YOU TO DO IT. 

I ONCE HEARD A MINISTER SAY, ‘IF GOD GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO DO THAT YOU CAN DO OR THAT YOU CAN EASILY FIGURE OUT, YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD FROM GOD YET.  GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!’  GOD LIKES FAITH.  HE WILL ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO DO THAT YOU HAVE TO TRUST AND DEPEND ON HIM IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH.  THEN, HE ALONE WILL GET THE GLORY.

WHEN GOD EVENTUALLY DEALT WITH ME THAT WE WOULD ACTUALLY  DO MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL, I DIDN’T SAY MUCH.  BUT INSIDE I WAS THINKING, LORD, I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO ONE SCHOOL AND NOW YOU’RE PUTTING 12-15 SCHOOLS IN MY HEART!  IF YOU WANT US TO DO IT, YOU WILL HAVE TO SHOW US HOW TO DO IT, LORD.  I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO PUT A SCHOOL.

SUDDENLY, IT DROPPED INTO MY SPIRIT THA THE FIRST SCHOOL NEEDED TO BE IN TALLINN, ESTONIA.  SO, WE WENT TO TALLINN.  BUT WHAT DO YOU DO, CATCH A TAXI AND TELL THE DRIVER, ‘TAKE ME TO THE NEAREST PLACE THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR A SCHOOL’?

WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO, SO WE JUST STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN OF TALLINN, ESTONIA.  I WASN’T PANICKING, SAYING, ‘OH GOD, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?’  NO.  WE HAD BEEN PRAYING IT THROUGH.  I STOOD THERE SAYING, ‘ALL RIGHT, GOD, WHICH WAY DO WE GO?  YOU ALREADY HAVE THIS THING FIGURED OUT.  WE’VE BEEN TALKING TO YOU, LORD.  YOU ARE ALREADY AT WORK HERE AND HAVE BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.  LEAD US ALONG THE PATH YOU HAVE ALREADY PREPARED FOR US.’

EARLIER THAT DAY, BACK AT THE HOTEL, WE HAD PRAYED IN THE HOLY GHOST FOR A FEW HOURS.  SINCE WE HAD ALREADY PRAYED THE MATTER THROUGH LONG AGO, WE PRAYED IN THE HOLY GHOST THAT DAY TO ‘SHARPEN OUR HEARING’ BY GETTING OUR SPIRITS SENSITIVE TO THE WILL OF GOD. 

AS WE STARTED WALKING, WE CAME TO A BUILDING THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY WAY TOO BIG FOR WHAT WE NEEDED.  BURT WHEN WE STEPPED INSIDE THE BUILDING, WE SAW A DINGY OLD STAIRWAY GOING DOWN.  IT LOOKED LIKE AN ANCIENT DUNGEON.  WE WALKED UP A HUGE WOODEN DOOR AND TURNED THE HANDLE.  WE WALKED IN AND FOUND OURSELVES STANDING IN A GORGEOUS ROOM - WITH STAINED GLASS WINDOWS, PANELING, A FIREPLACE - CAPABLE OF SEATING 50 PEOPLE.  WHEN WE FOUND AND SPOKE WITH THE MANAGER OF THE BUILDING, WE LEARNED THAT PARTICULAR ROOM WAS FOR RENT.  IT BECAME THE PERFECT FACILITY FOR OUR FIRST YEAR OF CLASSES. 

GOD HAD GONE AHEAD OF US TO HAVE THE ROOM REMODELED, READY AND WAITING FOR US.  AND EVERYWHERE WE’VE GONE - EIGHT YEARS AND SIXTEEN SCHOOLS LATER - GOD HAS PREPARED THE WAY.  WHY?  BECAUSE WE PRAYED THROUGH THOSE SITUATIONS AHEAD OF TIME.  WE STILL HAD TO ASK HIM, BUT WE STARTED TO ASK NOT JUST FOR THE NEEDS OF TODAY, BUT ALSO FOR THE FUTURE.

CALL UNTO ME

JUST BY PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST, WE CAN PRAY OUT THE PLAN OF GOD AND PRAY OUT THE WILL OF GOD LONG BEFORE WE EVER ARRIVE AT A DESTINATION.  GOD IS NOT IN TIME, THEREFORE, HE IS NOT LIMITED TO IT.  GOD INHABITS ETERNITY, THEREFORE, HE CAN GO BACK A THOUSAND YEARS OR HE CAN MOVE FORWARD A HUNDRED YEARS TO WORK THINGS OUT FOR US WHEN WE PRAY.  BUT WE MUST ASK.

IN JEREMIAH 33:3, THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, GOD SAYS, ‘CALL TO ME AND I WILL ANSWER YOU AND SHOW YOU GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS… WHICH YOU DO NOT KNOW.’  IN THE MARGIN OF MY BIBLE, IT READS, ‘CALL UNTO ME AND I’LL ANSWER THEE AND I’LL SHOW THEE GREAT AND HIDDEN THINGS.’

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT IS HIDDEN FROM YOU, SUCH AS DIRECTION CONCERNING THE FUTURE?  WELL, GOD SAID IF YOU WILL CALL UNTO HIM, HE WILL ANSWER YOU AND SHOW YOU GREAT AND HIDDEN THINGS.  THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION SAYS, ‘I WILL SHOW YOU GREAT AND INACCESSIBLE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW NOT.’

SOME THINGS ARE INACCESSIBLE EXCEPT THROUGH PRAYER.  INSIGHT INTO THE FUTURE, INSIGHT INTO THE PLAN OF GOD, INSIGHT INTO WHY THINGS ARE OR ARE NOT WORKING IS OFTEN AN INACCESSIBLE THING.  BUT GOD HAS GIVEN THE CHURCH A MIGHTY KEY TO ACCESS SUCH REVELATION KNOWLEDGE.  PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST.

SECRET TRUTHS AND HIDDEN THINGS

IN 1 COR 14:2 THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID, ‘FOR HE THAT SPEAKETH IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE SPEAKETH NOT UNTO MEN, BUT UNTO GOD: FOR NO MAN UNDERSTANDETH HIM; HOWBEIT IN THE SPIRIT HE SPEAKETH MYSTERIES.’  OR, AS THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE STATES, HE UTTERS SECRET TRUTHS AND HIDDEN THINGS.’  GOD SAID WHEN YOU CALL UNTO HIM THROUGH PRAYER, HE WILL ANSWER YOU AND HE WILL SHOW YOU THOSE MYSTERIES OR SECRET TRUTHS AND HIDDEN THINGS.

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAP INTO THE SECRET TRUTHS AND HIDDEN MYSTERIES CONCERNING YOUR FUTURE BY PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST.  AND WHEN YOU START UTTERING THOSE SECRET THINGS IN PRAYER, THE MYSTERIES BECOME DIVINE REVELATION - REVELATION WHICH WAS HIDDEN AND RESERVED FOR YOU TO HELP YOU WALK OUT THE PLAN OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE. 

I HEARD A STATEMENT YEARS AGO THAT HAS STAYED WITH ME.  QUOTING JOHN WESLEY, A CERTAIN MINISTER SAID, ‘IT SEEMS GOD IS LIMITED BY OUR PRAYER LIFE.  GOD CAN DO NOTHING FOR MANKIND UNLESS SOMEONE ASKS HIM.’  THAT IS WHY GOD TELLS US TO ASK, TO CALL UNTO HIM, IN ORDER THAT HE MIGHT MAKE KNOWN THE MYSTERIES HE HAS RESERVED FOR US CONCERNING OUR DESTINY IN HIM. 

PROBABLY THE GREATEST NEED ANYONE HAS IS TO HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND TO KNOW THE PLAN OF GOD.  WHEN YOU ENTER INTO THE SPIRIT AND START PRAYING OUT MYSTERIES TO GOD, YOU STEP INTO A REALM WHERE YOU CAN HEAR DIRECTLY FROM GOD CONCERNING YOUR FUTURE.  IN THAT PLACE, YOU CAN START DOING BUSINESS WITH GOD.

THE MAJORITY OF THE DIRECTION I HAVE RECEIVED IN THE PAST 20 YEARS HAS COME TO ME EITHER IN A TIME OF PRAYER OR IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD.  THAT’S WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE A PRACTISE OF GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT IN PRAYER, TO ALLOW OUR SPIRIT MAN TO BECOME MORE DOMINANT THAN OUR MIND.  THEN IT BECOMES MUCH EASIER TO PRAY OUT AND TO RECEIVE DIRECTION FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT REGARDING OUR FUTURE.

I’VE LEARNED THAT IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO WRITE DOWN THE IMPRESSIONS THAT RISE UP OUT OF OUR HEARTS IN TIMES OF PRAYER.  IF IT’S DIRECTION WE NEED FOR LIFE, EITHER FOR TODAY OR SOMETIME DOWN THE ROAD, IT HELPS IF WE WRITE DOWN THOSE IMPRESSIONS WE RECEIVE IN PRAYER AND KEEP TRACK OF THEM.  OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, WE CAN GO BACK AND SEE THAT A PATTERN HAS BEGUN TO EMERGE AND THE INSIGHT AND DIRECTION WE NEED HAS BEGUN TO SURFACE.

YOU CAN PRAY OUT YOUR FUTURE.  YOU CAN ESTABLISH HIS WILL FOR THE DAYS AHEAD, EVEN BEFORE YOU GET THERE.  PRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST IS A GOD-GIVEN KEY THAT WILL OPEN TO YOU THE STOREHOUSE OF HIDDEN TRUTHS OF GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.  INSTEAD OF RUNNING INTO DISASTERS AND WONDERING WHAT TO DO, YOU CAN PRAY OUT YOUR FUTURE AND LET THE GOD WHO GOES BEFORE YOU PREPARE THE WAY.  THEN, IF YOU HAPPEN TO BUMP INTO A BRICK WALL, INSTEAD OF PANICKING,YOU CAN SMILE AND START LOOKING FOR THE OPENING GOD’S ALREADY PREPARED SO YOU CAN PASS SAFELY THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE.

BVOV

'THE TASK AHEAD OF YOU IS NEVER AS GREAT

AS THE POWER BEHIND YOU'

God You know how to supply my need. El Shaddai, the All- Sufficient One; Jehovah Jireh, my provider, Jehovah Raphe, my healer. When I am weak, You are strong! I walk with You. I watch to see what You will do to see me through. I lean not to my own understanding, but in all my ways I acknowledge You and You will direct my paths and make them straight. I roll all my works upon You, for You will cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will and so shall my plans be established and succeed. ..In everything I give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning me... All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. God You fulfill Your purpose for me. In perfect faithfulness You do marvelous things. I am in the palm of Your hand. I am ever before You.

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