Study in Prayer

  Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 20:36

“When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.”

The Power of Praise (part one)

When you praise God, especially when you sing praises to Him, things will begin to change. They may be dramatic changes that make you say, “WOW!” But, more often than not, it is the little things that begin to change. Small things that most people are not even aware of -  unless you are looking at them spiritually instead of in the natural.

If you are truly in tune with God (and the only way you can be in tune with God is THROUGH His Word and spending time in prayer), YOU will begin to pick up on the little, subtle changes that are beginning to change.

But, what about those situations when there is an immediate need for God’s Presence to be on the scene? An immediate need where, if God does not do something NOW – there may not be a tomorrow?  

Let me give you an example of how Praising God change bring swift changes to your situation, whatever that may be…

In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, King Jehoshaphat and Judah went out to fight their enemy, the combined armies of the Ammonites, Moabites and the people of Mount Seir. These combined forces had banded together to destroy Judah. 

In the natural, Judah had no chance against these combined enemy forces. Things were looking pretty grim in the natural.

It’s amazing to me that almost everyone, when their back is against the wall and they have exhausted all of their ideas on how to fix any particular problem, only THEN do they turn to God and ask for His help. If we would just reverse this process, things would always go so much easier…

Well, in this situation, what did the king of Judah do?  He called for a prayer meeting. Praise God! At least he still had enough sense to do that!  Instead of “run for the hills, every man for himself,” he said, “Let’s run to God and ask for His help in this situation.” Praise God, Amen!

Well, the Holy Spirit moved on a young man who then stood up and began to prophesize. To save time, I will not read all of the verses here. To summarize what was prophesized, was, that the Lord told the people they have nothing to fear. (That was a shock to some of them standing there, I’m sure…).

They were told, “To go out to the battle, but it is not your battle, it is the Lord’s battle.”

The next morning, they all woke up and started to put themselves in battle formation to go out and fight the enemy. But instead of putting their best soldiers (in the natural at least), they put the choir out front.

How do you think those choir members felt?  “What? You want us to go out in front? With no weapons? No training? You just want us to walk about there and start singing?”  I’m sure those thoughts were running through their minds…

But let’s look at what happened…

They sang and praised God as they were going forth. The ministered to the Lord and sang praises to Him right in the faces of the enemy! This is just like Paul and Silas singing in prison, amen!  But look at what happened…

As the choir was singing “Praise the Lord, for His Mercy endures forever…” (and notice, there are no other verses indicated here. To me, that says they sang that one verse over and over and over. That tells us they were FOCUSED on what they needed and WHO they were Praising and WHO they were expecting to help them. Amen)!

So, what happened as a result of PRAISE?

The enemy armies began to fight amongst themselves!  They started to attack each other! 

As Judah’s army crested the hill and prepared to engage in battle, all they could see, as far as they could see – were dead bodies! The enemies had fought each other! Praise God (excuse the pun)! Amen!

Judah then went in on a mop up operation and just gathered all the spoils that were left behind! Amen!

That is what will happen to YOUR enemies that YOU are facing – IF you will start Praising God in our situation.

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 10:4

“Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”

Your Giving Captures God’s Attention

Cornelius had been praying. Scripture tells us he was a believer in the God of the Hebrews. He was doing his best to help the Jewish nation and the people he was in charge of.

As a Centurion, he had control, militarily, over that region.

But, he was also a person who believed in prayer. And he was praying to the God of Heaven. Amen!

As part of his prayer life, he would give financially to the support of the local synagogue. And he was not a cheap giver either. He wasn’t just giving a pocket full of quarters in the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas time.

No, he was KNOWN for being a giver. That is why, later, when the people he had sent to get Peter to come back to his home, they testified to his Faith and how much money and support he had already provided to the Jews. They were saying, basically, “This guy is for real.”

But here, I want you to notice, the angel said, “Your PRAYERS have come up as a memorial before God.” (Yes, I know, I misquoted – but stick with me here, I’m making a point).

Cornelius was a praying man. This is what God’s attention. Does God ONLY hear the prayers of the righteous? No. He hears everyone’s prayers!

“Wait a minute Brother Bob, God hears everyone’s prayers?”  YES – absolutely!

He heard your prayer when you prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior, didn’t He?  

“Well, yes. Of course.” 

Well, before you prayed that prayer; before you received Jesus as your Savior, were you righteous or unrighteous?  Were you still in your sin when you prayed to God? Of course!

So that is proof, right there, as well as other scriptures, that says God hears the prayers of the righteous and the unrighteous.

So, first and foremost, Cornelius was a man of prayer. THAT is what caught God’s attention.

But, Cornelius went one step further than simply praying. He put money where his mouth was, so to speak.

He became such a giver, that his GIVING also caught God’s attention. 

If you want to get God’s attention, it really requires you to do THREE THINGS.

“Three things, brother Bob? I thought you were talking about prayer and giving here?”

YES…but what needs to come first, as I’ve been teaching for about a month now on this program, is this…

You need to spend time in God’s WORD on a daily basis. For yourself! Not relying on someone else to read the Word for you and tell you what it says.

When you spend time with God – IN HIS WORD – and then spend time TALKING TO GOD in prayer and then you back up all of that with sacrificial FINANCIAL GIVING – with your prayers over the seed you are sowing – you can’t help but GET GOD’s ATTENTION! 

And we see that is what happened right here with Cornelius. 

What was the result?  The first gentile convert to Christianity! Praise God!

And it did not just bless Cornelius and him alone. It says his “whole house, family, friends and servants” were Baptized in the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

The study of the Word of God doesn’t only impact you…

Praying on a continuous, daily – all-day long basis, doesn’t impact only you…

Giving, financially and sacrificially to God’s work – doesn’t impact only you…

IT IMPACTS OTHERS ALL AROUND YOU! 

So, what do you need to do today?

First – Get out your Bible on a daily basis and read at least one chapter per day. Preferably read for at least 15-20 minutes each day. That may be one chapter (if it’s a long one) or it may three or four chapters. But you need to be in the Bible each and every day.

Next, PRAY. We’ve been teaching all month on praying on a continuous basis, all day long, about the little things in life as well as the big things.  

Finally, GIVE into the Kingdom of God. Amen! 

If you would like to sow into our ministry, you can go to FTFM.org and use the donate tab. 

But, the point I’m trying to leave you with is this.  Study the Bible, Pray daily and continually, and GIVE. 

When you do those three things consistently – you WILL get God’s attention and bring HIS BLESSING into your life.

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 7:59

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Faith Works

Have you ever faced an extreme circumstance where you were facing death in the face? I have. My time in the military and a few instances as a police officer, I have faced the prospect of “this could be it.” 

How do you react in those situations? 

By FAITH.  You see, faith WORKS every single time it is put to the test. Every single time.

If you believe you will fail, guess what – you will.

If you believe you will persevere – you will.

That does not mean you can say over and over, “I believe I win; I believe I win; I believe I win” and then, miraculously, the enemy just dies of a heart attack right before you very eyes. It could happen, but that does not mean that. 

What I’m talking about is this…

In those situations I was describing, I had to rely on my training. I had been trained for those exact situations. I had received the best training available. And the exact situation I was facing at that time, in my mind, though it was real, the training I had received kicked in.

That is why the military trains so much!  We used to say in the Cavalry, “We train today just as we will fight tomorrow.” We had another saying that “we train to be wet, cold, tired and miserable. And we are experts at it.” Amen!

But, when you are facing death in the face, you need to rely on your training. Then, something called, “muscle memory” kicks in.

I was trained in martial arts in my military days. That training served me as a police officer a few times. 

What does that have to do with this scripture of Stephen or you facing a life or death situation?

The point I am making is, just as we have been talking about all week, you MUST KNOW the voice of the Holy Spirit concerning the situation you are in. 

Stephen, sensing, “This is it..” did what he was taught to do. He had heard how Jesus, as He died on the cross, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit,” simply repeated the same words – but put his total trust and confidence and FAITH in Jesus. Amen!

You need to be the same way. You may not be facing a matter of life or death. You may not be facing a physical threat. But if the devil is putting more on you than you anticipated and it may come to something like that – DO NOT LET FEAR TAKE OVER!

Amen!  Your mantra should be THERE IS NO FEAR HERE. Amen!

Then, just trust in your training. Trust in what the Word of God says. Trust in Jesus to either deliver you physically – to deliver you spiritually. Either way – YOU WIN.

Praise God!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 3:1

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.”

 Pray for Others You Meet

I remember way back when I was in Bible School at Jerry Savelle Ministries, Bible Institute and School of World Evangelism. One of the requirements was that we had to witness to people and pray with them. We were to keep a record of that and turn it in every week to receive credit.

I made it a point to look for people that needed physical healing. And, truth be told, they are all around us. Just look at how many people are in wheel chairs, walkers or canes when you go to the grocery store. They may not be wheel chairs, but using those little carts, right?

Well, back then, they didn’t have those little carts everywhere like they do today. So I would look for people in wheel chairs. I would not interrupt their shopping or anything. But if they were sitting outside (probably having a cigarette, they could do that back then), I would zero in on them.

I would walk up and say something to the effect of, “Excuse me. As I was walking by, the Holy Spirit of God urged me to come over here and ask you if there was something I could pray with you about?” Usually, I would say 8 out 10 times anyway, they would say, “YES” and then tell me what they would like me to pray for. Sometimes it was their health, sometimes it was their family or finances, etc.

That is what we are reading today from our scripture. Peter and John are walking into the Temple area to pray and they see this man at the gate. He’s been there a long time. They’ve seen him on several occasions. He’s not new to the town.

But this day, something is different. Something about the man is different. Something about Peter and John is different, too.

They sensed that God was about to do “something.” They did not know what it was. But they “knew” in their spirit – just like Simeon and Anna did when Jesus was being dedicated at the Temple, as we covered a few days ago.

As they were walking up to the gate area, here is this beggar and he is doing what he did everyday, begging for alms. Begging for dollars.  

Peter and John didn’t have any extra money on them, but when the beggar looked into their eyes, the Bible says he looked, “Expecting.”

It was like the Holy Spirit had prompted this man to identify these two strangers out of the crowd. It was like the Holy Spirit had told him (he probably did not know it at the time, but sensed it), that these two men were going to bless him with a tremendous gift that day!

The Bible says he looked up at them, “expectantly.” 

Most preachers will say, “expecting them to give him some money.” That could very well be the truth. But let’s look at it from this angle and it makes a lot more sense.

He is EXPECTING. Peter and John can “see it” in his eyes, the Bible says. And then, you know the rest of the story. 

Peter says, “Silver and gold, we have none. But what we do have, we give to you. In the Name of Jesus of Nazereth (which this man must have heard about or it would not have activated Faith on the inside of him), GET UP AND WALK.” Praise God!

But notice, Peter and John did not just “pray” for him and walk inside. No, they ASSISSTED HIM.

They reached down, the Bible says, and grabbed his arm and yanked him up to standing position. As they did so, his ankles were strengthened and he walked and jumped up and down, etc.

These were all things he had never done. He was lame from birth. He had never walked or jumped before! Amen!

Well, the point I want to make – I could go on preaching on this for an hour – but the point I’m making on this segment is Peter and John were willing to pray for someone they did not know but had just met in the street.

You need to be the same way. You need to be led by the Holy Spirit. If He urges you, prompts you, to walk up to someone and ask if you can pray for them – DO IT!  Don’t be embarrassed! What is the worst that can happen?  The person says “No thank you.” 

That’s happened to me many times. It’s no big deal. Tell them, “Ok, have a blessed day” and walk on. But if 8 out of 10 say, “Sure” – then pray. Ask them what would they like prayer for and then pray! Amen!

“Well, brother Bob, what if I pray and yank them out of the wheel chair and they fall flat on their face? What then?”

First, I did not say to yank them out of their wheel chair, etc. I said to PRAY. If they say they want you to pray for their healing, do so. But in this day and time of numerous law suits, I would not be yanking anybody out of or off of a wheel chair or cart, etc. Not unless I was strongly being encouraged to do so by the Holy Spirit. Amen!

“Well, brother Bob, how will I know if I’m being strongly encouraged like that?”

I’m so glad you asked!  What have we been talking about for almost an entire week now?  Staying in a constant state of prayer with God, about all of the SMALL things, right?  Then, you will be absolutely certain when you hear from God in the BIG things. Amen!

I’ll leave it right there for today…

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture of the Day:   

Acts 1:24

“Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen.”

You Will Know What to Do

We’ve been talking about praying constantly, in the little things. As you continue do this on a consistent basis, you become more and more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 

As you ask for His guidance in choosing what clothes to wear or what to fix for dinner or what route to take to work, it becomes easier and easier for the Holy Spirit to speak to your spirit man. This allows your spirit man to connect to your mind and give you the advice the Holy Spirit is providing. In turn, your mind becomes more accustomed to following the directions – actually making the decision, to follow the Holy Spirit. Amen!

As you continue to practice and implement this process on a daily basis, several times per day and then, ultimately, continually all day long – your FAITH will begin to increase.

Why?

Because you KNOW God is talking to you when you ask Him a question. You become sensitive to His voice through the Holy Spirit.  Think of it like this. You take your children to the mall and, while distracted for just a moment, you six year old wanders off.  It was only two minutes, maybe – but where are they?

You start to scan, quickly. You don’t see them. You call their name. But there are hundreds of people and their kids near you. But you HEAR one voice. One voice stands out from all of the rest. It’s your child!  You call again and zero in on their location and find them just twenty or thirty feet from you around the corner in another aisle. RELIEF! Praise God!

But, how did you recognize your child’s voice from all of the others that were talking in your immediate area? How did your child recognize YOUR voice from among all of the others in the area?

Simple. Familiarity!  

You have been communicating with one another on a daily basis for, in this example, six years. You both have become accustomed to the others voice. So when you called out, your child picked up on your voice. When they responded, you picked up on their voice. Despite all the noise of other voices speaking at the same time, you were able to distinguish each others voices and connect quickly. Amen!

Now, it works the same exact way with the Holy Spirit and you.

If you become accustomed to listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the little things, it gets easier and easier for you to “hear” God’s promptings in the serious situations (such as you child that was lost in the mall).

Then, when you truly NEED God’s guidance in a major decision, such as changing careers or moving to a new town or a huge financial investment, like a new home or car, etc. – you will hear HIM and pay attention to HIM and not all of the noise of other voices speaking at the same time.

Think of it like being in mall. What is the purpose of the mall? Basically, to separate YOU from your money, right? Do you really need that $300 jacket or $250 pair of shoes?  Do you really need that 84” flat panel HDTV?  Your 64” at home is working just fine…

If you pray in situations like that, you will hear God’s voice telling you what to do. It may just be a “peace” that comes over you or it could be a prompting of “NO.” 

Folks, I’ll leave you with that. BUT, you will only be able to sense the “Peace of God” if you have become accustomed to hearing His voice. And you can only do that, through continuous, constant prayer. Amen!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2