Tag: Prayer

Praising in the Pit…

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“Focus on remaining so gracious that when the time comes for your testimony, people’s recollection of how you maintained your faith and good character despite going through such a difficult season, will encourage them even more about what it is to truly trust in God.”

Smiling when things are falling apart around you, is possibly one of the most difficult things to do.
It’s hard to laugh, have fun, or even see the good in anything, because your circumstance is saying otherwise.

Today I want to encourage you to  P R A I S E  in the Pit.
And if you cannot think of any reason why it may be worth it, simply consider the fact that you have life, God still loves you perfectly, and His word says He will always be with you – that is more than enough to give Him praise for. (Romans 8:38-39, Deuteronomy 31:6)

In addition to that praise, here are three other key things to do:

1. Continue to do and be G O O D

Don’t allow your situation to make you bitter.
Natural emotions that we may experience when things are tough include;

  • Sadness
  • Frustration
  • Anger
  • Feeling fed up
  • Being irritable
  • Self-pity
  • Loneliness

and many others.

When we feel like this, it’s often difficult to be our usual selves, and in fact it is quite easy to fall into the trap of allowing our emotions to dictate and change who we are, negatively.
One of the most important things I want to tell us is that we must not allow our emotions to rule us. Yes, things aren’t great, but that is no excuse to compromise your character and forget who God has called you to be – which is someone who exudes L O V E at all times. (1 Corinthians 13).
Focus on remaining so gracious that when the time comes for your testimony, people’s recollection of how you maintained your faith and good character despite going through such a difficult season, will encourage them even more about what it is to truly trust in God.

When you find yourself getting into ‘a way’, remember that God’s word tells us a lot about His plans for us. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28).
Therefore, knowing God has a greater purpose, plan and will for you, means you cannot allow your energy to match your present situation. Instead, you have to ensure your energy is in line with the greater place God is taking you to! For that reason you need to draw out the praise that is on the inside of you and show God that you are dedicated to praising Him in spite of what is going on in your life. Show Him that your love for Him goes beyond your circumstance and that you truly love Him for who He is, not what He does.

 

2. Don’t obsess over ‘why’

Common perspectives many of us may have adopted throughout life, is that there is a reason for everything and that there is always a lesson to learn from every season you find yourself in. While I agree with both these concepts, we must be careful not to distract ourselves with trying too hard to make them fit into our lives in the most practical or perfect way.

Here’s what I mean by this…
Sometimes God does share ‘why’ He’s taking us through things, other times, He doesn’t.
The point is, if we get so utterly consumed with finding out ‘W H Y’ something is happening to us, or we get fixated on gaining an idealistic lesson out of it, we run the risk of losing focus on how God has truly called us to serve in that season, as well as engaging with God’s actual purpose or lesson for us.
For some of us, our focus on finding out ‘why’ could actually wrongly dissuade us from praising. This is because we subconsciously tell ourselves that we need a reason and purpose for the pain before we can praise in that pit, when actually the word of God encourages us to praise and give thanks in ALL things – good or bad. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Focusing on getting a so-called reason or lesson that we deem tangible enough to us, also falsely implies that depending on the answer we get, God could possibly be unworthy of our praise – and this is so far from the truth.
The bible tells us that He is worthy of all praise, honour and glory forever. (1 Timothy 1:17).

 

3. Surrender it all to God

This is the most important bit.
Stop trying to create the ideal outcomes in your mind, and stop trying to help God sort things out your way – just give it to Him and rest in Him.

The bible not only teaches us that we are made for God’s pleasure and to bring glory to His Name (Isaiah 43:7, Isaiah 43:21), but it also very clearly enlightens us that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore some things may not make sense to us. Some things won’t add up according to how our human minds may try to work them out, and so chasing a reason, or trying to create an artificial lesson that we assume God is trying to teach us, will only leave us exhausted and disappointed.
What we should do instead in these situations, is truly and wholeheartedly seek God and ask Him to enable us to live out His very purpose for us in that situation.
We must learn the art of absolutely surrendering our will and way to God, realising that He is Sovereign and thus actively deciding to allow Him to have His way. This may not be easy – but it’s always worth it.

Worth it;
– because the earlier we surrender, the sooner we have peace.
– because walking with God is so much better than working against Him.
– and because ultimately, we should always desire for God’s perfect will to manifest, as opposed to anything else, as He really does know best!

 

Now get to know God’s Promises

It’s all well and good me encouraging you to trust God and rest in His promises etc., but you need to know His word for yourself, because that is what you have to hold on to.

So here’s a start for verses to use to remind yourself of how well God will carry you through it all, and that there surely is a greater glory awaiting you at the end:

Something crucial to remember in the midst of your pain and unrest, is that regardless of how sour things may seem, God has not, and will not EVER remove His covering over you. This means no scheme of the enemy could ever prevail over you, nor lead you to destruction, rather, just like He did with Joseph, God will turn it all around and use it for His glory and your victory. (Genesis 37:18-28, Genesis 39:21).

The story of Joseph (found in Genesis 37 onward) provides a good example of someone who praised and served his purpose diligently whilst in his pit. In fact his very service to others whilst in jail, is what then delivered him in time to come – but that’s a word for another day.

Admirable examples of other Praisers in their Pits and people who remained faithful to God in the face of adversity are;

Daniel – with friends in the fiery furnace – Daniel 3, in the lion’s den Daniel 6

Paul and Silas – Acts 16:16-40

Job – Job 1, Job 1:20-22, Job 2:10, Job 42:10-17

In each story, as each character served their season of pain/trials with diligence and grace, we see the final outcome was completely worth the strife, especially when it caused others to give their lives to God.
So today I encourage you to keep Praising and keep your heart Faithful to God.
Praise your way into the sweeter season, because you serve a God that would never leave your current situation as your final destination.

Set it in your heart that NOTHING will steal the praise from your lips and the worship of your heart,
Because at the end of the day
God will still be God –
The Sovereign God, who knows best,
So why not Praise Him anyway?!

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing

Song suggestion: Praise Him in advance by Marvin Sapp

*Practical tip: (suggested by a friend and I think is a great idea) Create a playlist of Ten upbeat praise songs! Get into your praise zone with these daily and be reminded of God’s goodness.

Prayer: Confidence

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C O N F I D E N C E

This week,

I pray You’ll remember the child of whom you are (Romans 8:14, Galatians 4:7), and therefore remember the royalty that you are in the kingdom.
I pray that every doubt of self – every fear of inability and fear of incompetence, be removed permanently from your life and replaced with the faith and boldness that you truly ought to have.
I pray for a new spirit of healthy confidence in who you are and what you can acheive.
I pray that you will not hold back from stepping forward and boldly embracing your strengths, and therefore taking on challenging tasks (at work, school, home, anywhere), which allow the excellence and uniqueness of God in you to shine through.
I pray that no hurdle will cause you to stumble, no barrier will cause you to turn back, and no obstacle will trip you up, as you journey through this week.
When you come across any curveball from the devil, you will rise in faith, and take the opportunity to activate the glory and power of God in you, and bring that devil to shame.

I pray for the glory of God surrounding you, to be intensified all the more.
I pray for a confident spirit when making decisions, a confident spirit when executing projects, and a confident spirit to walk away from things when their season has passed.
I pray for confidence and positive self-esteem when you communicate and interact with others, and I pray for a confidence overall that doesn’t seek validation from men and women on this earth – you know and trust in your anointing, and therefore I pray that you will be led to speak when you ought to, but also be humble and hold back when you ought to.

I pray you’ll remember the strength you truly have (do I even need to quote this one haha Philippians 4:13), and therefore won’t limit your options to only what your human mind can comprehend, but will think beyond the things of this earth, and will aim to achieve the unthinkable – through Christ Jesus.

Finally, I pray that you will have confidence to spread the gospel, and obey the instructions God gives you in order to minister, inspire and capture the hearts of those who are lost, and bring them home.

This week, I pray that in all things, you will be Confidently Confident!

in Jesus’ Name,
AMEN.

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you

#ConfidenceInChrist
#ConfidenceInMe
#MoreThan100PeoplePraying

 

A Prayer for your Week: 23rd-29th Oct 2017

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Getting the right words down, in the right order, to mean the right thing, in the perfect way, definitely, takes time.
Which is why when bogged down with uni work, or just so many other things, you’ll find that there won’t be a post even though you expect one – why, because I can’t ever give you any old rubbish, it truly has to be God’s Untainted Word.

However I said somewhere in the welcome pages that this whole platform is definitely bigger than just me, therefore I know that being ‘busy’, is never acceptable as a reason to not keep up with the work of this ministry.

Therefore today God gave me this concept of sending you guys a prayer and best wishes from the bottom of my heart during these ‘busy’ times (Merciful King, Love hearts to Him), in order to ensure the consistency of posts you all deserve, and still give you something REAL.

So Let’s pray for our week;

Strength

Father, I pray for each of us to realise that we need not ask You for strength anymore because we already have it!
Therefore we ask for the ability to activate and believe in Your strength that already lies within us.
We thank You for making us strong;
Strong enough to get through the painful situation,
Strong enough to forgive wrongs,
Strong enough to help others,
Strong enough to keep going!
We thank You that Your strength in us shall allow us to overcome every existing weakness, and enable us to conquer in Jesus’ Mighty name.

Verse to prophesy: Philippians 4:13

Courage

Courage for the big things… Courage for the small things…
Father, we thank You for the courage You have placed in us.
You instruct us to be BOLD and Courageous in Deuteronomy 31:6, and that’s exactly what we’re going to be in this week!
Courage to stand up for others,
Courage to stand up for ourselves,
Courage to stand uprightly for Christ…
Father, we ask that You will give us the opportunity in this week to exhibit this courage and boldness, and let it bring glory and honour to Your name, in Jesus’ name.

Wisdom

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him.”
[James 1:5]

 

Wisdom to make a decision, and not regret it immediately after because it’s the wrong one – Father we thank You for and ACTIVATE, the wisdom You have given us.
Wisdom to make the right decisions,
Wisdom to act in the appropriate way in response to scenarios,
Wisdom to deal appropriately, and lovingly with our peers in all areas of our lives…
We thank You because the wisdom You have given us, will cause us to stand out this week in one way or another.
Our wisdom-driven behaviours, mannerisms, and choices will cause someone to ask about the Jesus in us! And will cause them to come to know Him, in Jesus’ name.

In all things,

We pray that we will walk in love, walk in Christ, and be a living testimony of His Gospel.
May this week be like none other; filled with surprises, blessings and opportunities to share Christ.

All in Jesus’ Perfect name we pray,
Amen.

Go out and smash this week! 🙂 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

 

#Blessed Week
#MoreThan100PeoplePraying

A Prayer for our Youth

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I woke up yesterday, and I could overhear my younger sister’s conversation.
I could tell someone else was gone again…

Immediate emotions were heartbreak, fear, sadness for the young boy’s family, but then it struck me that we can’t sit in silence, when God has given us a weapon – P R A Y E R – which has the power to destroy every evil plan, at the mention of the name of Jesus!

You see, the youth of today are often referred to as the future of tomorrow, because they ARE! But if their lives are all cut short now, there simply will be no tomorrow!

So this is what I ask of you today;
That you’ll stand with me and say ‘Enough is Enough!’
And I hope that you will believe with me, that as we connect our hearts and our spirits as one body to pray this prayer, that heaven will hear our cry and attend onto our prayers.

In Jesus’ Name,
Let us pray: 

For Guidance

Father Lord guide each and every one of Your children as they go in, as they go out.
Direct their footsteps and do not allow them to go where Your glory doesn’t lie!
Help them to be led by You, and to not be led astray by the tempter in Jesus’ name.

For Friendships

Every friendship that will lead them to destruction, Father bring it to an end in Jesus’ Name.
Help them to move with the right crowd and be influenced by people who will lift them up, rather than bring them down.
Help our youth in fact, to be a light onto others, rather than the darkness people are running from!

For Families

Every youth coming from a home that is troubled or broken, Father give them peace in Jesus’ Name.
Be the Peace that completes them and fills their void in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Father though it may be difficult, please allow them to see their struggle, misfortune, or difficult beginning, as motivation to do, and be better for themselves, and for their own future generation to come after them.

For Education

Every Spirit of dropping out and giving up, Father we rebuke and come against it in Jesus’ Name.
School is not impossible for them, therefore we pray for every single youth we know, both closely and distantly, that You will enable them to always remain passionate about furthering their learning and broadening their horizons in Jesus’ Name.
Every limitation that teachers/professors/advisors may have placed upon them is broken today in Jesus’ Name.
And those who lack belief in them shall be put to shame in Jesus’ Mighty Name.

For Relationships

Father, we pray for romantic relationships, platonic relationships, relationships with siblings, friends, parents – that You will give Your young people an ability to love and treat others with respect.
Help them to honour one other and look out for those around them, whilst being led by You.

For Lives Lost Already

Father, we pray for those who have been snatched from us so early – whether it happened 10 years ago, or 2 days ago – we pray for comfort, strength, and peace for their families and friends in Jesus’ name.
We pray that every bitter heart towards what has happened, will be taught how to love again.
We pray that You will soften the heart of every person wishing to seek revenge, and give them peace and wisdom to know that judgement and vengeance is Yours alone.
Help them to hold firmly unto You, and never ever let go in Jesus’ name, for their true help, comes from You alone, Lord.

For a True Love of You

Above all things we have prayed for Father, we pray that each soul will run after You, long for You, and desire You more than ever before.
As they seek You, Lord, let them find You, and never let You go!
We pray that they will love You and be people after Your own heart.
Let them develop a relationship with You, and let them fear You and honour You with their whole lives.

Father Lord,
We trust that as our hearts connect with one another, You have heard our cry and have heard our prayer, in Jesus’ name.
We ask that the  T R A N S F O R M A T I O N  of the youth of today, across the world, begins now, and becomes a permanent triumph over the enemy in Jesus’ Mighty Name.

We pray that the helpers of our Youth, the people whom You have put in a position to lead the change and encourage Your young people, will never be discouraged or fearful or fed up in Jesus’ name.
We pray that those who are praying for our young people, and fighting for them to come to church, come to Jesus, find Salvation and so on, shall never get tired of fighting for their souls! We pray that You will keep a fire burning in them, that will never give up until Your work is fully accomplished, in Jesus’ name.

We pray that parents will no longer mourn their children.
We pray in Jesus’ Name, that we will celebrate our youth more, rather than grieve and cry over them.

We seal our prayers with the blood of Jesus.
We thank You for the privilege to even remember that we can pray and speak to You.
And we know that all this is done, as we have asked and prayed,
in Jesus’ Mighty Name.
A M E N.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

A Prayer For You…

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This Evening,

All I want to do, is pray for you…

 

In Jesus’ name,

I pray over your week,
That it is blessed with joy and peace and fruitfulness in every area.

I pray for uncommon favour for you and your family wherever you go, with whomever you meet, and in whatever you do.

I pray that God Almighty, will sanctify each endeavour with His anointing, and direct you to walk in line with His will.

You will not make any bad decisions, take any bad turns, or make any choices that you will later regret! Rather, I pray that God will open up your eyes, ears and heart to be sensitive to His voice, to know what His will for you is, and what His plans and expectations for you are.

I pray that anyone that will pull you down, delay your blessing, obstruct your journey, distract your calling, or be detrimental to your life in any way, be removed by the Lord God Himself.

I pray that wickedness shall see you and flee, and darkness shall be turned into light whenever you arrive!

Again, regarding decisions, I pray that you, the person making an important decision this week, you will have peace both before and after making it.
You will not decide, then begin to wrestle in your mind if you’ve made the right choice. God will direct you, His Holy Spirit will give you the knowledge and wisdom to know clearly which decision to make, and you will obey and make it right in Jesus’ Mighty name.

Your Heart;
I pray that God will give you a heart that loves Him.
A heart that is in Love with Him deeply.
A heart that puts Him first above all things.

I pray that in loving God, you will honour Him with your whole life, you will desire more and more to die to your flesh, and live by His Spirit instead.
I pray that the words you speak, the thoughts you think and the actions you take will all glorify the name of Elohim Jehovah!

I pray finally this; that someone will encounter you this week,
and will encounter the Christ in you.
This encounter will not be ordinary in any way,
and through it, this person will just
H A V E  to give their life to Christ.
The urge in them and the fire in them to know this Jesus, will be too much for them to resist or ignore, and they shall, in Jesus’ name, this week, through you, know and accept that they have a Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

All of this, I pray for you, and your family,
in Jesus’ Mighty, Precious Name

A M E N.

 

Have a pleasant, positive and life-changing week!

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

Romans 12:12

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”.
[Romans 12:12]

New Week?

We’re gonna ‘Romans 12:12’ our way through it!

Step 1: Say to yourself; ‘I will be joyful in hope!’

To hope is to have a feeling of expectation and great desire for a particular thing to happen.
To hope is also to trust.

Friends, to be able to hope is amazing, but because of how bleak things look now, some of us feel like there’s no point….
I’ll tell you, hope is beautiful and it keeps us going, because it means we aren’t giving up, and we trust for a better tomorrow.

Say, believe, and mean these things:

In this new week, I will sit confidently with happiness that greater is coming.

I will express my great pleasure in the fact that I know, it is not over concerning whatever situation I am praying about.

I will be joyful in the hope that never dies as long as I have Christ Jesus.

I will be joyful in the hope I have in the fact that as long as I am living, there is still a chance, there is still a possibility, and God will surely make a way.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
[Romans 15:13]

 

Step 2: Say to yourself; ‘I will be patient in affliction!’

Now this prayer takes maturity and true trust in God.
I say this because a lot of the time, we want it ‘now’ – We pray today and we want the ‘yes’ tomorrow (or even that same day!)

Let’s learn to endure our times of pain, and look to God in hope and faith, trusting that He knows what He has purposed it for, and that we will come out refined.

Say, believe, and mean these things:

I will be patient in affliction and I will learn the lesson that it brings.

I will be patient in affliction and trust God regardless of what anyone says – I will listen to His directions, obey His instructions and hold on to His promises.

I will be patient in affliction and turn to no alternative false solutions – I will wait on God.

“But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
[Isaiah 40:31]

 

Step 3: Say to yourself; ‘I will be faithful in prayer!’

Some of us become consumed by a situation and stop praying.
Some of us don’t remember God when everything is rosy…

Today, we’re changing our attitude to prayer…

Say, believe, and mean these things:

I will pray without ceasing – 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

I’ll keep thanking God.

I’ll keep speaking to God.

I’ll keep up a constant conversation with Him because it’s in Him alone that I rest, and put my trust – (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I’ll keep consulting Him before my every move, because I know He knows best and has my best interests at heart – (Jeremiah 29:11).

 

So friends, here it is again…

Romans 12:12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”.

 

Let’s read it, take it in, believe it, and declare it;

We will be Joyful in every Hope we have in Christ,

We will be Patient in Affliction because we serve a Living and Loyal God that won’t leave us hanging,

We will be Faithful in Prayer – because why wouldn’t we want to speak to our Amazing Father daily?

 

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God Bless you.

‘Look Out For Me…Please’

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The people around you, need you.
A tiny voice does cry out.
But if you don’t stop to ask them;
‘How are you?’,
And wait for the real answer to that question,
You will never actually know.

People can be so good at just pushing forward and getting on with life; upholding their responsibilities, maintaining their roles and most especially, smiling through it all despite the pain.
Don’t get me wrong, their strength to carry on is admirable, but sometimes, we really ought to make the extra effort to truly be the keeper of our brothers and sisters, and check on them to see how things are going.

Particularly those whom we haven’t heard from in a while, or those whom we know may have suffered a hardship, such as job loss, failure, broken relationship, or even loss of a loved one – we need to be there for them.
We need to be unselfish with our time and either pick up the phone, or even set up a physical date to have a good chit-chat with them, allowing them to release their well-kept and composed emotions!

The bible tells us in Romans 12:15 to rejoice when another rejoices, but also to weep when another weeps.
What we learn here is the ability to empathise with one another, but also, God is highlighting the importance of the fact that He doesn’t ever want anybody to deal with their problems or misfortune, or traumatic events alone.

He wants us right there by their side, using the Jesus in us to carry them through.
Of course God does His work from above too, but remember that we’re His hands and feet on earth? So it’s crucial that we make ourselves available for these people to physically feel Jesus through our care and looking out for them.

Don’t worry, sometimes you may not know what to say in response to what they share with you, and other times, a response may not even be required, but be confident in this; that the spirit of Jesus that lies within you, will be felt by them, and that is what matters most.
They need to be reminded of the love and strength that they can draw from Jesus, as often as possible. So don’t depend on what you can do as an individual, but rather trust that Jesus will do the work in them, to heal them bit by bit.

Ensure you pray before your conversation; that God will take over the entire encounter, and His Spirit of peace and love will fill the atmosphere between you and the brother/sister. Ask Him to direct your speech if any is required and ask that He will restore their faith in His word (if lost at all).

Also  pray for them after, and remember them consistently in prayer; that God will restore their joy, strength and hope, and that they will never feel alone.

Yes the talking is great for their healing process, as they are able to release more and more of that hurt, but our prayers; our intercession on their behalf will also reach the throne of mercy, because in being like Jesus, when our brothers and sisters are weak in their faith, we ought to be strong! Strong in the spirit, to pray for them and speak to God on their behalf to restore their hope, faith and trust in the Lord God Almighty.

I know sometimes we don’t want to approach people when we see them seeming ‘okay’, because we don’t want to take their smile away and remind them of the pain, but isn’t it better to make sure that their smile is really a smile, rather than a mask?

Our brothers and sisters will surely heal, because the stripes (wounds) of Jesus have that power! – (Isaiah 53:5) And the word of God also promises to heal broken hearts in Psalm 147:3.
But we have a part to play in it too; we must make sure that we encourage their hearts to be open to God; not resenting God, and truly receptive of God’s word that says;

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
[Jeremiah 29:11]

Let’s be our siblings’ keepers – they need us.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing
God bless you.