Are you Winning or Losing the Battle?

Exodus 17 : 10-13
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Where the Battle is Won

There are 3 things that will make our prayer lives more exciting and our prayer more fruitful :

1.  Life's battles are won or lost in the place of prayer

God wins His battles through men and women who intercede on behalf of His Kingdom

-  we need a spirit of total dependence on Him

-  we need unwavering faith

THE BATTLE

• we need to bow our knees before conflict begins
• God turns our eyes towards Him
• He sifts and cleanses us in preparation for the coming battle
• He gives us His perspective of the battle - it's superior to our own
• our faith soars - whoever battles with us also battles with Him
• He promises us victory by His own Word
• the battle is the Lord's and the victory is ours

     2 Chr. 20:15-17

15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what theLord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance theLord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

* Many conflicts in the home would be concluded if family members would bow before God, search their hearts and surrender their battles to Him.

He is the source of ALL things - spiritual and material 2 Peter 1:3

• we must enter each situation in complete dependence on Him
• only then, will He release His supernatural power to overcome the enemy. Recognize the enemy - it's not family, friends or even bosses - Satan uses people to get at God without us realizing it!

2.  We may become weary

• we tend to look at circumstances around us
• we lose the burden
• our perspective is warped by Satan to discourage us
• we see problems as larger than they are

3.  We all need an "Aaron" and a "Hur" like Moses

• We need 2 people we can share our needs and burdens with
• they should not be our counselors, but our supporters
• some people are willing to give advice for our spiritual battles, but won't give their time in prayer
• we need someone to listen carefully, and then pray until our burden is lifted - no matter HOW LONG it takes!

WE NEED MORE SPIRIT-FILLED PRAYING - NOT ADVICE!!

Are you someone's Aaron or Hur? Be part of that threefold cord (Eccl. 4:12) that cannot be quickly broken because when 3 of you have :

-  genuine concern for each other

-  unwavering faith in God

- the need to intercede for each other ....

~ something supernatural takes place ~

This will build your faith as well as that of your prayer partners.

Be blessed, bless someone, and take charge to be a prayer warrior today. WIN THE BATTLE!!!

Please leave comments below - and test everything I have shared.  Most of this information comes from How to Handle Prayer, by Charles Stanley, but make sure you have tested it against the scriptures to find that it is true. Let me know if you find any inconsistencies.

My plans or God's plans

Everyone has plans. We wouldn't be normal if we didn't. We plan for today, we plan for the weekend, we plan for our future.

Often, while planning, we are unsure about choices that we need to make. Do we choose this or that?  We decide to pray about it and then wait. Several things may happen. 

Either, we find that the door is closed, and nothing we can do will make it work; or, we don't hear anything from God; or we find obstacles in our path that make it difficult for the plans to work out.

If you're like me, these make you feel despondent, your faith may waiver, or you may wonder what you did that God is not granting you the desires of your heart!

I have learned, through this process of ours, that God's plans are ALWAYS better than mine!  Even if it's difficult and hard to understand.

Jesus Calling this morning said this :

We need to come to God with our plans set aside. (In other words, don't come to Him with all these huge plans to give Him, asking for advice - He knows them already!)

We must worship Him in Spirit and in truth and let Him guide us throughout the day. (We have to be aware of Him throughout the day ... not just during our quiet time, or a quick moment when we need to pray, but ALWAYS).

We need to submit our plans to God's Master Plan because He is King over EVERY aspect of our lives. (It's not easy, but we need to let go of our plans and trust that He will take them and make them good).

Trust and search for God's way through each day. Don't blindly follow your habits or you will miss what He has planned. (How easily do we go through the same routine every day, instead of looking for the opportunities that God puts in front of us. How many blessings do we miss because of this - blessings both for us and others?).

John 4:24

24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Isaiah 55:8, 9

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

 

I challenge you today, to write down your plans - whether they be for today, or next weekend, or the future. Lay them all before God and give them to Him. Then take each moment and trust Him to do better than you ever could.

No, it's not easy waiting to see where He wants you to go. Or what choice you need to make. If you absolutely have to make a decision, then make one and pray for peace. If you feel that peace deep down in your Spirit, then you know you are in His will. If not, change that decision quickly! 

If you think you're not hearing from God,  don't ask "Where is God in this?", but ask "Why can't I see God?"  Pray that He will reveal Himself in your situation.  

A Burden for Prayer

Today, as I read through How to Handle Prayer, by Charles Stanley, I was made aware of the burden of prayer that we should all have.  I was taking notes and wanted to share them.  I have found today, that many prayer requests were sent to me, which doesn't always happen. Maybe God is trying to teach me something!  I find that I don't spend as much time in prayer, as I do in His word and in other readings - after reading this today, I decided that I needed to change that!  Please read through it with me and feel free to comment through email or on Facebook about your thoughts. I'd love this to be a conversation and a way of building each other up!

PRAYING FOR OTHERS

1.  WHO DO WE PRAY FOR?

-                Pray for those in Authority

·      president, congress, mayors, bosses

·      intercede on their behalf for their needs

·      give thanks for them

-                The Body of Christ

·      those under persecution

·      the lukewarm

·      the cold

·      those in financial need

-                Vocational Servants

·      Pastors

·      Teachers

·      Missionaries

·      Evangelists

WHAT DO WE PRAY?

-                what they need to preach/teach

-                to be able to speak the truth boldly

-                to have a clear message

Don’t criticize these people – pray for each person, especially our Pastors.

-                Laborers

·      people yet to be called for preaching, teaching, singing, leadership roles

·      pray to bind Satan’s powers from influencing their decisions

-                The Lost

·      God’s will is for EVERYONE to be saved (1Tim 2:4-6)

-                Our Enemies

·      Matt 5:44

·      Our prayers should not be based on personal likes/dislikes but on a desire for peace

HOW TO PRAY FOR OTHERS

-                We need a heart of compassion

·      God ignores prayers if there is prejudice or anger

·      We need a good attitude

·      We need to respond to His Spirit, and not react to others

-                Prayer is the Link

·      between God’s resources and people’s needs

·      God is the source and we are the instruments

·      We need to stand in the gap between the need and the satisfaction of that need

·      Jesus stood in the gap between God and all mankind

-                Identify with their Needs

·      spiritually and emotionally, we need to feel what they feel

-                Purpose for suffering

·      one reason God allows us to suffer is so we can identify with others in prayer, instead of stereotyping them

·      when we avoid pain, we limit our usefulness to God  (2 Cor 1:4)

·      We need to ask God to help us see what others see and feel what they feel

·      In order to truly understand their hurts, we have to experience hurt ourselves

-                Desire the Best for Others

·      we need to die to selfish desires and seek only God’s best – no matter what the cost is to us

-                Being a Part of the Answer

·      we must be willing to be a part of the answer if necessary

·      God won’t hear our prayers if isolation (God, I’ll pray for them if you will just fix it) -  i.e. us not willing to be involved

·      If we ask and do nothing, He will listen and do nothing and we can expecting nothing in return

è   DON’T pray for missionaries unless you are willing to go or send your children

è   DON’T pray for others’ financial needs unless you’re actually willing to give

-                We MUST Persevere

·      Keep on praying until the answer comes

·      We aren’t always willing to pay the price : TIME!!!

·      If we’re burdened for someone, we mustn’t stop praying until that burden is lifted

·      We need to lay down our lives for our fiends in prayer

Ask God to show you 3 people to pray for :

-                their burdens

-                their heartaches

-                specific needs

Tell God you’re willing to be a part of the answer

-                ask Him to share their burdens with you

-                ask for a spirit of compassion and love

-                ask Him to teach you HOW to pray and intercede on their behalf

If we pray for each other :

è   Homes will be mended

è   Businesses will flourish

è   Churches will be revived

If you do ALL this, you will never BE the same or PRAY the same again!

                           How to Handle Prayer, by Charles Stanley

Email me at ccamons@burlingtonchristian.org or comment on Facebook if you have any comments to share. 

Devotional and Some Thoughts for Saturday

Do not resist or run from the difficulties in your life. These problems are not random mistakes; they are hand-tailored blessings designed for your benefit and growth. Embrace all the circumstances that I allow in your life, trusting Me to bring good out of them. View problems as opportunities to rely more fully on me.

When  you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for me. Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us. Although self-sufficiency is acclaimed in the world, reliance on Me produces abundant living in My kingdom. Thank Me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protections from the idolatry of self-reliance.

I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.   JOHN 15:5

Just sharing some of what I've been reading this morning, mostly so that I can look back and remind myself of some of these truths.

 I look at the picture above taken on our trip up to Welkom, and see the trees standing proud, reaching towards the sky and the beautiful sunset. The branches are almost bare, but entwined between some of them are birds nests, and spider webs, indicating life and support. It's a reminder to me that I want to be the branch that remains in my Vine, receiving support and life from Him.

I have been reading from Charles Stanley's book, How to Handle Prayer, and this morning read how certain things can hinder God from hearing us. Not because He CAN'T hear, but because he WON'T if these things are in place :

Selfishness : if we are stingy, God's blessings will stop. If we refuse to help those in need and yet expect God to bless us financially because we are "good" people, go to church, pray, etc. then we are simply hypocrites! I think about how many times I haven't wanted to give that little extra because I'm scared I won't get through at the end of the month. Well, this journey of ours has surely taught me many things. At this stage, none of us have an income, so whatever is there, is not going to be replaced on a monthly basis. But you know what? I'm ok with that now. God has been teaching me that to rely on Him for our every need is the most important thing. It is the most freeing experience. No income but also no bills, no stress, just depending on Him for each day.

Matthew 6:26  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

I look a the Hadeda Ibis that simply landed in my parents' garden and all it needed was provided. I think it ate up every single earthworm and bug over a two day period!  If God can provide for one as small as this, how can I even think that He won't provide for me!

Indifference to God's Word :  if we are indifferent to God's word, He won't answer our prayers. His word is His letter to us.  We need to :

-  constantly seek the deeper truths of Scripture;

- apply it to our lives

- delight in His word

- pray for understanding

CLOSED BIBLE = CLOSED HEAVEN

Unconfessed Sin

Unconfessed sin short-circuits prayer.

ISAIAH 59:1-2  
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.

He will not move, even if we pray and pray. He will wait for us to confess our sins so that we can be cleansed.

What is worth more to you : holding on to a sin, or an unhindered relationship with Him?

The power of the ocean (as seen in this picture taken in Cape Town), reminds me of the power of prayer - when we pray in the right state of mind, and open to all we have, it is incredibly powerful. I saw the rocks and how they have been smoothed by the constant movement of the waves over time. So should our prayers be constant in order for us to unleash the power that God intends.

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. ~ John Bunyan

The Journey

Our time in Cape Town has come to an end. It is time to move on to the next part of our adventure - led solely with God as our guide.  We decided that the long 14 hour journey would need to broken up, so we booked into 2 places along the way to spend each night. 

On our way up, we were once again reminded of God's majesty with the beautiful scenery we came across.  

We had booked into a place near a town called Prince Albert. It is a farm and we were told that we had to drive along a dirt road. Didn't realize it was about 30km of badly kept dirt road. Apparently, the man in charge did not keep it up at all, even though it was government road!  Well, all the jolting caused a wire in our fuel pump to come apart and we came to a standstill. Luckily, the farmer was not far and when we phoned him, he came to our rescue and fixed it. What a blessing that it didn't happen far from his place.

When we got to the farm, the first thing the boys did was start to explore.  It was a quaint little house we stayed in - no electricity, just oil lamps.  Peace and quiet!  For the first time EVER, we did not hear ANY traffic at all. Peace like that soothes your soul!!

Sunsets and sunrises in the Karoo are incredibly beautiful!!!! Night time is when you realize how awesome our God is. Have you even really seen how many stars and galaxies there are in the sky at night?  With no city lights around, they were all there in their glory!!!

This is one of the galaxies we saw, when looking through a huge telescope at the farm. The farmer's son showed us many different stars and galaxies. He was very knowledgeable!!

These two nights were a reminder of the fact that we are under the hand of God. Who are we to worry about what lies ahead?Who are we to worry about our futures? He knows the names of each of these stars!!

PSALM 147:4
He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names.