Pray without ceasing

PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING  

 

I was studying Luke 18 this morning, the section that is written about 'a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.' Jesus spoke about how the persistent petition of the widow moved the judge to answer her and rule in her favour.

 

Jesus was speaking to the need for his disciples/children to do likewise. In a nutshell

-Be persistent

-Don't give up.

 

Paul spoke about continual prayer when speaking to the people of Collossae in 

1 Thessalonians 5:17

He said 

'pray continually'

 My thoughts went to considering what these two scriptures were saying about both persistence in prayer and being constantly in an attitude of prayer. What does this mean in the practical, day to day choices I make?

 

Below is a powerful commentary on the topic that I got from Internet research at 'gotquestions.org' 

 

For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. You do not have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and essentially forces you to breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer.

Unfortunately, many believers hold their "spiritual breath" for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is that every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, to be fully functional. (Emphasis mine)

It is easier for Christians to feel secure by presuming on—instead of depending on—God's grace. Too many believers become satisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual ones. When programs, methods, and money produce impressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with divine blessing. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing. Continual, persistent, incessant prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of humility and dependence on God.

 

After reading this, a song called 'this is the air I breath' started playing over and over again in my mind. It was such a soothing experience, that  I will adopt this song to remind me of constantly, continually being in an attitude of prayer. If you love hymns as I do, you may also like to adopt 'sometimes a light surprises a Christian when he sings' as your song to remind you to 'breath prayer'

Do you have a favourite song that ushers you into the Lord's presence? Do share.

Praying Mothers -Nigeria by Fadeke Adepetun

PRAYING MOTHERS - NIGERIA

We must intercede for our country, Nigeria, it is not an option. It is compulsory. Nigeria is hounded by forces that want to bring her to her knees, but we the children of God must not allow that to happen. 

We will pray that the face of the lord should be against those who want to destroy the good plan God has for this land. We may not be in politics, but we have a voice which we can use to cry out to God. 

God is more than enough to turn around our situation for good in Nigeria. The same God that delivered us from Ebola and caused nations in the world to ask us how we did it, is still on the throne today. He has not changed.

We have a very good biblical example of one man that interceded for his nation. I suggest that we read Daniel.9 when we get home. 

Daniel said in

Daniel 9:17-19 NLT

“O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary. “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy. “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.” 

That is going to be our prayer this morning - that God should have mercy on us in Nigeria, He should hear, He should listen, He should forgive and He should act!

1) Repentance

Our first prayer point is going to be on Repentance. We are going to stand in the gap for the nation and ask God to forgive us of the sins of past generations. A lot of innocent blood has been shed on the land over the years and is even still being shed and this blood is crying out for vengeance. However, because we know that our God is a God of mercy, we will pray that He will turn and have mercy upon us in Nigeria. 

Psalm 79:8-9 NIV

(8) Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. 

(9) Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.

2) Lets Pray against violence 

 (a) We will first of all have to cancel every negative word that has been pronounced over the nation

II Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 

(b) Isaiah 60:18 AMP

Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders, but you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 

Psalm 7:9 NIV

Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.

Pray against the spirit of violence that is controlling the hearts of men

(c)  Pray that God will confuse the plans of those who are planning evil at these times.

(d) Pray that God should destroy the plans of the wicked.

e) Psalm 35:1-6 NIV

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with the peace of Nigeria ; fight against those who fight against us. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to our aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who are planning violent acts. Say to us, “I am your salvation.” May those who plan violence in Nigeria be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot her ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 

We decree O Lord that the Gates of Nigeria are called Praise and her walls are called Salvation

(3) Peace

Let us now begin to speak peace over the nation. Let us command the wind of peace to go to the 4 corners of the country 

Father we speak Peace to the North of Nigeria, peace to the south, peace to the center, peace to the east and peace to the west.

(4) Guidance  

Some people have said they heard from God and some have said they have seen visions. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with these. But because I know that God is not a God of confusion and that He reveals things to His children, I have decided to shut out all voices and listen only to the voice of God. I have asked God that He should reveal to me just like He has been revealing to others who I should vote for.

We cannot afford to make decisions based only on what man is saying to us because, Like a friend of mine says The best of man is Man at his best. What this means is that at the end of the day, man is only man not God. Our decision on who to vote for should be Holy Spirit guided.

Psalm 32:8 NIV

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 

Isaiah 48:17 NIV

This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

(a) Father, open my ears to hear your voice clearly, silence the voice of man so I can hear your voice. Instruct me o Lord, teach me what is best for Nigeria as I cast my votes in Jesus name.

(b) Father, let Your will override my desire as who to vote for. Let Your will and not mine be done in Jesus name. 

(c) Father, let every citizen of this nation vote according to your will. Guide us all into Your will o Lord

5) Pray that the elections will be free and fair.

This is one prayer point that needs Great Faith because of our past experiences. However, we must remember the 2 scriptures we started with at the beginning: 

Jeremiah.32:27

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

John.11:40

Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?

(6) Pray that God will put confusion in the camp of those who plan to rig the elections. Pray that God will confuse their language as they gather to strategies on how to rig the elections.

(a) Pray that God will despatch His angels to stand guard over the polling booths and boxes to prevent anybody from tampering with the votes.

(7) Father, let Your counsel concerning the next set of leaders be established in Jesus name

Isaiah 32:1-8 MSG

But look! A king will rule in the right way, and his leaders will carry out justice. Each one will stand as a shelter from high winds, provide safe cover in stormy weather. ..... No more will fools become celebrities, nor crooks be rewarded with fame. For fools are fools and that’s that, thinking up new ways to do mischief. They leave a wake of wrecked lives and lies about GOD, Turning their backs on the homeless hungry, ignoring those dying of thirst in the streets. And the crooks? Underhanded sneaks they are, inventive in sin and scandal, Exploiting the poor with scams and lies, unmoved by the victimized poor. But those who are noble make noble plans, and stand for what is noble.

(a) Give us a President that will rule in the right way

(b) Give us leaders that will carry out justice. In every position of leadership, Gubernatorial, ministerial, local government, senate, house of assembly

                    - God fearing men and women

                    - men and women of integrity

                    - compassionate leaders who will not turn their backs on 

                       the homeless and needy

                    - leaders who will make noble plans and stand for what is 

                      noble

(c) Arise o Lord, intervene in the affairs of our nation so that no longer will fools become celebrities in Nigeria nor crooks be rewarded with fame.

(d) Jeremiah 24:7 NLT

I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Father, when you select these leaders, please give them hearts that will recognize You as Lord, hearts that will worship You and make them return to You wholeheartedly

8) Isaiah 51:3 NLT

The LORD will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air. 

Father, comfort Nigeria again, 

- have pity on her ruins, 

- let her barren wilderness be like the garden of the Lord

- let joy and gladness be found in Nigeria and let songs of

   thanksgiving fill the air.

(9) Isaiah 65:17-19 NLT

“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more. 

Father, we thank You because we believe that you will create a new Nigeria, and no one will even think about the old one anymore. We will be glad; We will rejoice forever in Your creation! We thank You Lord for we believe that You will create Nigeria as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. You will rejoice over Nigeria and delight in us Your people. And the sound of weeping and crying will not be heard in Nigeria anymore in Jesus name.

Isaiah 32:15-18 AMP

(15) Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is valued as a forest. 

(16) Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) will abide in the fruitful field. 

(17) And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. 

(18) My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places. 

(a) Father, pour down Your Spirit upon Nigeria afresh

(b) Father, turn every wilderness situation in Nigeria to a fertile field

               - spiritual wilderness

               - moral wilderness

               - economic wilderness

(c) Let this fertile field begin to yield bountiful crops 

(d) Father, judge everything causing the wilderness situation in Nigeria

(e) Pour down Your righteousness upon Nigeria 

                          - body of Christ 

                          - Leadership 

                          - Schools, homes, etc

(f) The effect of righteousness is peace so let's pray down God's peace over the nation at this point in time.

(g) Finally, let's declare that Nigeria is  peaceable habitation, a safe dwelling and an undisturbed place of rest.

 My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.

Father, we decree that Nigeria is a peaceable habitation, it is a safe dwelling and it is a quiet resting place.

Psalms 46:4-7 NLT

A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress 

So therefore, we decree This morning, that the River of the Holy Spirit will bring joy to Nigeria; Nigeria cannot be destroyed. From the very break of dawn, God will protect Nigeria. The Nations may be in chaos and their kingdoms may crumble! God's voice thunders, and the earth melts! We decree that the Lord of Heaven's Armies is here among us in Nigeria; the God of Israel is our Fortress. 

Psalm 126:1-3 NIV

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 

CHILDREN

Ephesians 4:14 NLT

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

JEZEBELS

Ezekiel 13:20-21 NLT

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against all your magic charms, which you use to ensnare my people like birds. I will tear them from your arms, setting my people free like birds set free from a cage. I will tear off the magic veils and save my people from your grasp. They will no longer be your victims. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 

Nigeria Must Rise!

Good morning Nigeria

May the one chosen to lead Nigeria to fulfil destiny be chosen today.

May there be peace and calm in our land.

Nigeria must rise out of the ashes of corruption, inequity,mediocrity to attain its full potential.

So help us God.

Amen!

Prayers for the 150 abducted Syrian Christians

Photo- Reuters

It is written in: 

Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)
Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about
anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in
heaven.
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

We agree in one accord and pray that these 150 hostages will be delivered from the hands of the cruel according to Jeremiah 15:21 

         "and they  will be saved from the hands of the wicked and delivered from the grasp of the cruel.”

We pray for courage for them, that the God who upholds them and comforts them at this critical time, will fight for them according to Deuteronomy 3:22

We agree and declare that:

No weapon forged against anyone of these 150 will prevail, and we stand in the gap for them and refute every tongue that accuses them. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, ”declares the Lord.
-Isaiah 54:17 (NIV)

May the Lord be their strength in this time of trouble:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
-Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV)

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
-Psalms 9:9 (NIV)

May the Lord go ahead of them to fight against their captors.
For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
-Deuteronomy 20:4 (NIV)

Our Lord and our God, contend with ISIS and its agents and save these 150

But this is what the Lord says:“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce;I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.
-Isaiah 49:25 (NIV)

We pray for them to be guided in their thoughts , speech, actions, attitude and demeanour by the power of the Holy Spirit who will:  

instruct them  and teach them in the way they should go; He will
guide them with His eye.Psalms.32:8 KJV

Show us your mighty hand Lord and cause their captors to treat them with kindness, exactly as His word says in Psalm 106:46 NLT

              He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness

Lord, we cry unto you, rescue these 150, save them, show your might, your power, your love and your mercy
Psalms 7:9 (NIV)
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure—you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.

Psalms.37:39-40 NLT
39 The Lord rescues the godly;  he is their fortress in times of trouble.


Psalms 37:7 NLT
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

We thank you Lord for answered prayer concerning these 150 souls belonging to your kingdom.

Deliver them from the hands of the wicked!

In Jesus mighty name!

Amen!

KINGDOM STRATEGY THINKING-PLAYING THE LONG GAME

Matthew 6:19-24 | NIV says,
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 

23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.


This passage prompts me to ask the following questions.
-Who is my master?
-Which master am I really serving?
-Self?
-The pride of life?
-My ..this, my...that?
-What exactly is in my heart?
-What am I dwelling on consciously or subconsciously?


This red letter word in Matthew 6:19-24 is saying, I have to choose who to serve, and that what I choose may not be serving God as I ought to. The one who created me, expects me to make choices that serve His purpose. My choices may find me in direct conflict with the will of God for me.
I am to store up eternal treasures that are imperishable as opposed to earthly, physical treasures that are subject to destruction . It is important what kind of treasures I store up, because that will determine where my heart will be focussed.
My 'eye' as a lamp to my body determines whether or not my perceptions and belief system will lead me to the inflowing of God's light, or the absence of it, which is darkness.
In meditating on this word, my thoughts are that God's light seeks to illuminate the darkness of my inner man, and this process is ushered in by the choices I make.
Therefore, I must be intentional and deliberate about what I seek, what I allow my eye to see. i.e the 'eyes' of my understanding. I must guard jealously, what I expose myself to in thought , word and deed, as these actions lead me along particular paths. Which paths am I on as evidenced by my thoughts , my words and my deeds?

Later on in this chapter, there is a powerfully compelling command.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 | NIV

This is an instruction that implores me to seek the things with a heavenly kingdom oriented mind. This may appear to be counter intuitive and may not come naturally, due to the power of the flesh and its desires. I need to self check so that I am not motivated by all sorts of internal pressures, promptings and things that are limited by the here and now. This is the kind of sight that will not usher in the light of God.
Seeking His kingdom first requires dying to self, this is an often painful process that demands

submission of my self will. 

God is saying that I should not be satisfied with plucking the low hanging fruit because I must invest in Kingdom currency which is His will for me, it pleases God, and is my purpose here on earth.

This is consistent with other words of Jesus which speak to His desire that we 'die to self' and that we live for the benefit of others. In summary, I am to yield myself to the things of God that He has predestined for me .
Then and only then will ' the other things be added unto me as well'


Micah 6:8 says
He has shown you, O mortal , what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Prayer for myself and the readers of this blog:
May we listen to Our God the awesome teacher!
He shows, He speaks, He demonstrates, He encourages, He commands, He instructs.
As we move towards the close of the year, I pray that we will listen to what God is teaching us in this passage. May Kingdom oriented thinking be our portion in Jesus name!
Amen!

Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death…Dr. Ada Igonoh survived Ebola – This is her Story

http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/09/15/must-read-through-the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-dr-ada-igonoh-survived-ebola-this-is-her-story/

Courtesy of Bella Naija. Here is the link to the story of a junior colleague of Dr Adadevoh who survived the Ebola virus. It is quite long, but worth a read.

Sword of the spirit prayers for Dr. Adadevoh & others

(1) Ephesians 6:10-17 | NIV

10 ...... we are standing strong in you Lord and in your mighty power. 11 We put on the full armor of God today,  we take our stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore we put on the full armor of God, so that as this day of evil Ebola has come, we are able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand. 14 We stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around our waist,
( the truth is that at the name of Jesus Ebola shall bow)
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
( we are the righteousness of Christ Jesus in God)
15 and with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, we take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
( by faith we declare that Dr Ameyo Adadevoh and all those in quarantine are saved from this deadly pestilence)
17 We take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
( because of our confidence in our God and our salvation in Christ Jesus, we use these words to pray as a sword. We cut down and totally route the enemy with these powerful words of God, knowing that they will not return void but accomplish that for which they have been spoken)
Amen

(2)1 Corinthians 15:58 | NIV

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, we stand firm. We shall not let anything move us. We give ourselves fully to this work of The Lord;( to stand in the gap and pray) because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Amen

(3)Psalms 91:1-16 | NIV

911 We who are standing in the gap dwell in the shelter of the Most High and we declare rest in the shadow of the Almighty for all Ebola victims . We say " Lord you are our refuge and our fortress, our God, in whom we trust." 3 Surely The Lord will save Dr Ameyo Adadevoh and others from the fowler's snare and from the deadly Ebola pestilence.4 He will cover them with his feathers,and under his wings they will find refuge;his faithfulness will be their shield and rampart.5 ( as The Lord strengthens them and their families, and banishes fear in their hearts) They will not fear the terror of night,nor the arrow that flies by day,6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,nor the plague that destroys at midday.7

Our Father, Lord, healer and great provider, command your angels concerning these for whom we pray and guard them in all their ways;12 lift them up in your hands Lord ,so that they will not strike ther feet against a stone( by no means come to any harm) 13 though they face the ravaging effects of this deadly virus, it will be as though they have tread on the lion and the cobra; that they will trample the great lion and the serpent. BUT 14 "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him;I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble,I will deliver him and honor him.16 With long life I will satisfy him.

With long life The Lord will satisfy Ameyo Adadevoh and others in Jesus mighty name.

Ebola prayer

2 Timothy 3:16-17 OBEDIENCE & THE GOD BREATHED WORD

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

In order to serve my purpose on earth, I must be equipped to do it. 

In order to be equipped I must obey the word of God.

Obeying the God breathed word takes me to a place where I am taught. 

My teaching includes:

-rebuking bad behaviour

-correcting wrong decisions 

....so that I am empowered to do good works full on.

This scripture inspired me to draw the image below. In my mind I saw a 'pressure can' , heated by the God breathed word of God. The elements are heated and stressed (our life's struggles) and ultimately purified. The emerging strong element is the smiley face, all set up and empowered to do good works.

Prayer: May you be empowered by the word to do good works as you embrace and learn from your training, teaching and rebukes. No matter what your challenges are, I pray that you push through believing in your heart that the process is God ordained for your training and refinement. More grace to you!

Amen

FAITH AND GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

Luke 18:1 (NIV)
1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.


Luke 18:6-8 (NIV)
6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off ? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

These two statements say to me that God's willingness to answer prayer is not what the question is, but how I keep faith. Here it says I will get justice and 'quickly'. How do I reconcile the statement of 'quickly' with many issues that have not been answered yet, such as the return of the Chibok girls? It took nearly 25 years of suffering before I received healing? How 'quick' are those??

With the Chibok girls, I think perhaps God is using the situation to 'find occasion' against Boko Haram, just like he did with Samson and the Philistines and Pharaoh and the Children of Israel. Concerning my healing, if I pause a minute and look at what I have learnt through that adversity, the quantum of growth of my faith, and the depth of my relationship with God, I view those years with gratitude. God really did do something new in me , in and through those difficult times.

My conclusions:
It is all about my perspective, thoughts behaviours and belief system on the one hand and the sovereignty and timing of God on the other. Though I find it difficult to understand within the limits of my human view point, I can definitely 'allow' what God is saying to come through.

However, once I take a deeper look at the verse 6, I begin to see that my faith position is important in the equation.
What I hear loud and clear is that :
1) I must keep faith
2) God hears and sees my petitions and my plight
3) He says He will answer quickly
4) The timing of the answer is part of a wider picture which only God has control over.
5) God's sovereignty means that what is happening in my life is not about what is comfortable for me, but completely about how my faith shapes my response to life's experiences .  Also, how my faith impacts my willingness to serve God, and my submission to His sovereignty.

All easier said than done eh? So this is a reminder to myself. 

I hope this speaks to someone too.

May your faith be built up to the measure of the power of our God, which is available to you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Thoughts on Exodus 5:22 Moses upset with God

22Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.
Exodus 5:22 (NIV)


Moses was moved by compassion for the suffering of his people, he knew very well that God had plans to rescue them, and he was the agent/ leader to do this.
Prayer:
Father, Lord, thank you for Moses's strength in you, and the clear evidence of how close his walk was with you. He literally demanded from you what you had promised...I am scared to think that he accused you of being unfaithful when he said 'you have not rescued your people at all.' I believe that statement came from having confidence in who he was in you, and a deep rooted belief that you were able to do what you said you would do. It sounds like he was not doubting your ability per se, but was wondering what your motive was for not performing speedily. I am grateful for what I also observe concerning Moses' conscience; it must have been clear towards you. Help me to choose the thoughts and actions that auger well for a right standing with you. Thank you for your grace and for Jesus who gives me direct  access to God now.

Amen

For our Chibok girls: surely a future hope

I have researched and found a few scriptures which can be formulated into prayers for the abducted. I am publishing my list now, to support those who are praying for the return of the girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State. I am including my own prayer as well. I trust that heaven will take note of the massive outcry that this dastardly act has generated in the hearts of Nigerians and in the hearts of many concerned people the world over.

SCRIPTURES

“I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”

-Jeremiah 15:21 (NIV)

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

-Psalms 71:4 (NIV)

Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

-Deuteronomy 3:22 (NIV)

no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, ”declares the Lord.

-Isaiah 54:17 (NIV)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

-Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV)

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

-Psalms 9:9 (NIV)

For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

-Deuteronomy 20:4 (NIV)

But this is what the Lord says:“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce;I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.

-Isaiah 49:25 (NIV)

There is surely a future hope for you,and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 23:18c (NIV)

PRAYER

Our Father and our God, thank you for your word, on which we can rely, that it shall not return void , but accomplish that for which it has been spoken. There is power in your word, the same power that created the heavens and the earth, all things seen and unseen , and raised Christ from the dead. 

In the matchless name of Jesus, please save the abducted from the hands of the wicked, and deliver them from the grasp of the cruel. Our God and deliverer, save the abducted from the grasp of those who are evil. Give the abducted a strong fighting spirit within such that they will not be afraid of their captors, keep their faith in being returned to safety burning bright for we believe earnestly that The Lord our God himself will fight for them. Our ever present help in times of trouble, we look to you to calm our fear as we put our trust in you. Your word says that captives can be rescued from warriors and plunder retrieved from the fierce . Father, Lord! God of all, contend with Boko Harram because they are contending with our nation Nigeria. Scatter them in several directions and throw confusion into their camp. We declare that no weapon fashioned against our girls shall prosper in Jesus name. Thank you Lord that we can rest assured that there is surely a future hope for the Chibok girls and we agree concerning them that their hope will not be cut off.

In Jesus name.

Amen!

PRAYER PERFUMED WITH PRAISE...my very first sermon!

 I have shared my testimony in many forums , revival sessions at church, women's fellowship meetings etc, but i have never before preached a sermon. I was excited about it and also quite nervous, which was ironic since i was preaching about not being anxious. The part i enjoyed most was putting the key points into bold graphic drawings. I literally sat still until the inspiration came. Awesome God!!!
Anyway, here it is below, including the images i used as slides.

PRAYER PERFUMED WITH PRAISE...
a sermon preached at VFC ; Victoria Fellowship Church
On Mothering Sunday 30 March 2014

Good morning Church!


Let us Pray:
I yield my heart, soul, psyche and spirit to the full control of the Holy Spirit, so that I will be a vessel used to bless your people this morning. And may it be a fragrant offering acceptable to you, to the glory of your name. Amen!

I am grateful to God and delighted for this opportunity to share a few words with you.
When I was first asked to come and share a message with the theme ' prayer perfumed with praise, my immediate reaction was 'what is that!?' I imagine, that you too are asking yourselves what on earth that means. Before I confirmed that I would take up this assignment, I asked for time to think about it and committed it to prayer. To be honest, my initial agenda was to change find a new title for the theme, but The Lord had a different idea, as all my prayers and pondering did not reveal a new theme to me. What was spoken into my heart was to use it as a springboard to share a personal , practical application of both the theme and the bible passage for today.

The word perfume generated a few thoughts in my mind. Firstly in my language Yoruba we have a phrase 'gbo orun' which literally means to ' hear a smell' . Secondly, I am borrowing a definition from my eldest daughter which she coined when she was a little girl, but I think it is quite apt that she said she thought perfume means perfect fumes. This led me to think about what the role of perfume is in a person's life, and I concluded that perfect fumes bring about an enhancement of the atmosphere around the wearer for their own enjoyment and also for the benefit and enjoyment of others. Perfume brings a certain note to the wearer, some of us have a favourite aroma which others can distinguish us by as we walk into a room, the scent wafts in with us.

In the context of our prayers to The Almighty through Christ Jesus, this led me to think about the role of praise in our prayer lives, and how praise brings a beautiful aroma into our communion with our heavenly Father. It made me think how hearing the word of God and ingesting it in a manner that it becomes an intrinsic part of our self talk can introduce a special dimension to our fellowship with our loving Father God.
The Lord hears us saying His own words back to Him, and that is a sweet aroma to His ears, just like the Yoruba description of what it is to perceive a smell that I said earlier.
In my blog, I shared a definition of prayer, which I came to after being part of several bible studies on the subject, and I quote:
Prayer is a conversation with God that communicates with Him in fellowship.
It therefore follows on, that praise can be a sung prayer. The bible says that praising our Father God is what we were created to do, and also when we reach heaven, it is what we will be doing 24/7 into eternity. We will be joyfully in the presence of God. What we are striving to do here on earth should be a pattern after that which God has created us to do. In doing that we know that we will be walking in His purpose for our lives. I believe this is why God made praise so enjoyable. I have observed that praise triggers other good things, like thanksgiving and gratitude.


I went on to read the scripture for the day and was filled with excitement because they are words I have read over and over again, and written notes and commentaries in my journals about. On further reflection, I realise that I have totally absorbed these words into my being, and in retrospect I recognise when I have applied them. That is what happens to the ingested word of God, and how it can be activated to release the promises of God. Just like a drop of perfume is activated by the heat in our bodies to release a beautiful fragrance into the atmosphere around us.

Phillipians 4:6-9 (NIV) says…….
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Lets take a look at this beautiful word of God together and break it down a bit.

art by Lara

Slide 1 The various things that make us anxious have only one outcome…. FEAR…. which is expressed in several different ways. I have left the blank spaces for you to think about and fill in with the things that make you anxious. Because we all have anxieties. We all have issues that are beyond our power to handle without extra help of some sort.

art by Lara

Slide 2 Our creator knows that we will have anxieties real or imagined and has put down some rules that should govern our attitude to them.
Basically, He is telling us to think about what we are thinking and substitute them with the list in the passage. He has asked us to Pray and bring our Petitions to him, with Thanksgiving, believing and trusting that He will come through for us. He says The outcome of those kinds of thoughts is not fear but peace.

art by Lara

Slide 3 I examined the list of things we are to substitute our anxious thoughts for and realize that they are characteristics of God. If we meditate on the characteristics of God, then it isn't too much of a leap to say that we are thus apprehending…The mind of Christ, since The Father and Son are one. Having the mind of Christ brings us Peace. Jesus stated himself, in John 14;27 and I quote…..
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

However, I found that I could not receive that peace while still meditating on my anxieties. In fact, I simply took the words 'Do not be anxious' as a command. What happened to me when I took this word of God as a command still leaves me astounded and grateful to this day. In a nutshell, I obeyed the command, this ignited praise in my heart and I chose to love God through obedience to that command in spite of the massive difficulties I was facing. I made joy my choice, and kept gratitude in my heart as a default. I began to think about what I was thinking, and went about changing my self talk. After choosing to meditate on the word instead of my troubles, I received a very strong palpable message that I was a child loved by my Father, God. He said these exact words to me 'Lara, I love you from eternity to eternity' The import of this powerful exchange will become clearer in the context of what I am about to share.


I have lived with acute asthma since I was a child, and had many emergency grade attacks as an adult. My family and myself thought this was bad enough to deal with until I began to have issues with extreme fatigue and muscle weakness. The anxieties in my heart and mind escalated in direct proportion to many un answered questions. I visited doctors over a span of eight to ten years in four different countries, and every where I went, all the tests came back normal and there began a downward spiral in my mind and spirit as each doctor attributed the symptoms to psycho somatic issues. At first I believed them until I became unable to chew properly, swallow, walk, sit up for more than a few seconds at a time. I became disabled and bed ridden, and began to have double vision and rounds of eye problems that made me so sensitive to light that I had to sit indoors with the curtains drawn and put dark glasses on. On top of that, I had serious breathing problems which took me to the emergency room often .There I would be jabbed with hydrocortisone and adrenalin and would be revived.
At a point, I was so frail and weak that my children took over the running of the house and together with my husband became my care givers. Things got so dire, that the threat of imminent death hung over me, and I cried unto The Lord in anger, frustration, fear and desperation. I cried until there were no tears left to cry. Then I resolved that I would fight, to the last breath in my nostrils, I would fight.

I started making affirmations in order to change my self talk. If God was calling me back, so be it, but if He was not, I would keep on fighting. What got me through those times were scriptures, hymns and choruses I had internalised before I was struck down. These I sang repeatedly in my head over and over again, as I resorted to praise as part of my arsenal of weapons against the enemy. Even in the midst of breathing crisis, I would struggle to sing, as well as praying over myself in tongues. I couldn't read because of blurred and double vision, and my bible was too heavy to lift, so I fed on all the scriptures that I had memorised, one of which is Phillipians 4:6-9.

The practical application of this scripture was played out for me in ways that make it possible for me to say that I am now walking in the physical manifestation of my inward confessions , thoughts and spoken words. Praise was a key element in getting me from where I was to where I am now. Those confessions came intrinsically from the word of God, and I found myself in a place of praise at a time when I should have been totally dejected. But let me back track a little to share with you a phenomenon in which God himself enriched , enhanced and perfumed my life with praise.

When I started receiving various songs complete with lyrics and tunes years before, I had no idea that The Lord was preparing me for a time when praise was the main weapon I would use to weather the storm of very trying times. I had no idea that I was about to enter into a season of torment that was generated by an up scaling of health challenges that had been bothering me for over two decades. I don't play any musical instrument, at least I haven't done so since I was a teenager at secondary school. I have a good appreciation of music just like everyone else, so you can imagine my surprise when the songs started dropping into my spirit. With no other tools to record them apart from my singing. I sang them over and over again, such that my family got a bit fed up of hearing me! I went on to write down the lyrics as well, and the repeated singing soon made them part of me.
We used some of them in our family devotion and I used them often in my personal quiet time.

One of the songs downloaded to me by the Holy spirit is titled
' nothing can prevail' and this and other downloaded songs became a declaration that would see me through many tough times.

SONG
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail when you're standing in the Lord
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail when youre standing in the Lord

Great is His love
Higher than the Heavens
His faithfulness reaches to the clouds
Great is His love
Higher than the heavens
His faithfulness reaches to the clouds

I said….. Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail when you're standing in the Lord
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail
Nothing can prevail when you're standing in the Lord

art by Lara

Slide 4…This is exactly what happened with me, the Lord did guard my heart from all the issues I was facing, and I felt the depth of Gods love in a new dimension, and I was able to love God instead of focusing on my feelings of fear, anger, anguish etc. It was like a breath of fresh air, a heavenly fragrance borne on the wings of praise.


Ultimately, I can say that what I received was a Godly exchange, and that was because my burdens were lifted, once I acted in obedience to His word. God has been faithful to His word, He has really 'Perfumed my prayer with praise'

Slide 5

To conclude, I will now share another one of the songs downloaded to me way ahead of my season of torment, that has become a victory song. It is titled "Look at me now'

Look at me now
Look at me now
I'm sporting a beautiful crown
The ashes are blown clean away
Look at me in this place
Look at me by His grace
I'm sporting a beautiful crown

He crowns me with love and compassion
Satisfies me with good deeds
My youth is renewed like the eagles
Im soaring high above the world

Sing…
Higher and higher and higher
Higher and higher and higher
I'm soaring high on eagles wings
I'm sporting a beautiful crown.


Thank you!!!!