PRAY!

I wrote a post not too long ago about the importance of prayer during your process click here if you haven't read it yet I strongly suggest that you do because it will bless you! But this time I wanted to focus a little more on how to pray, when to pray and the power of praying with one another.

In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches us how to pray. Then in Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus instructs us how to pray:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

In these verses Jesus advises us to go into a room (our room) and close the door instead of standing on a street corner. He also tells us to pray to our Father in heaven; this should be our mentality as we are entering into this time with Him. He tells us to come to Him and call Him father; this shows the significance of our relationship with Him. Jesus also instructs us to pray in first person plural because even though our prayers are done in private we are to pray and intercede for one another. We pray for our family, friends, co-workers, etc... Our prayer shouldn't only be about us and our needs and selfish desires but also about our brothers and sisters in Christ. He also instructs us to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15). How can we ask God to bless us and provide for us but hold a grudge against a brother or sister (in Christ)? I wrote about forgiveness here. We have to be free and forgive in order to be forgiven.

 Why is it that we know the power of prayer, and the power we feel when and after we pray but we don't do it or we wait until we are desperate for example when we are sick we pray to get better or when we are running late to an interview meeting, work, church, or whatever place we may be going to we pray we get there on time? Why do we wait to pray and ask God to do anything for us? It's really sad to think that most of us never think about praying until something bad happens or life isn't going the way that we planned it to go. Then we get upset/mad at God because He didn't answer our one request out of selfishness. James 4:2-3 says "You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." 


So my question is when do you pray? Is it when you are at church (at the alter) and everybody is watching/can see you or when you're out with a group of "Christian friends"? Or when you are overwhelmed with life, or maybe happy with life? Do you pray when you are full of joy and are well? Do you pray when all hell is breaking lose? When exactly do you pray? You might be saying well the bible doesn't tell us a specific time when to pray. Or does it? Well in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it tells us to "PRAY continuously"  another version says "pray all the time" So you see the bible does tell us when to pray 1 Chronicles 16:11 says: "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." This to me means to always be in commune with God; to always be praying no matter the time of day, no matter life's situations/circumstances, no matter the way I might be feeling at times, no matter where I may be school, home, grocery shopping, at the gym, and especially at work. You don't know how many times I've had to pray before, during, and after work lol I can laugh about it know because I can see where those prayers have brought me (I'll blog about that another time) but you see prayer does work! It shifts our focus onto the One who sees the bigger picture. I love this quote that I read the other day it said "Don't stop praying! Satan tries to limit your praying because he knows your praying will limit him." 

 Ever wonder why you start to feel tired or lose your train of thought/focus as soon as you are about to pray or read your bible, hmmm?? Well that isn't a coincidence it's the enemy, Satan. He sees you trying to get your life back on track with God and he begins to play with your mind; he sees you reaching for that bible and about to pray and he makes you think of anything and everything else just so you can be distracted and not talk to God or read His word. The devil isn't stupid! He might want you to believe that but he's not, he knows exactly what it will take for you to not pray. He knows that if you get into an argument at work you won't pray so don't be surprised when so and so comes trying to start something with you. He knows that if you are down you won't pray, so he'll send you some bad news. He knows that you won't pray if everything in your life is going great, so he'll send you some more good things into your life (not God things but good things), and so on and so forth... do you see how he works?? I know most of us heard this saying before: "Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray!" So what will it take the enemy to get you to not pray? Think about it...

 Lastly I want to talk about the power of praying with one another. There are so many verses in the bible that refers to the body of Christ and how we need one another. There is so much power in praying together Matthew 18:19-20 is a great example of what the power of praying with each other can do "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."


James 5:6 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."


James 5:14-15 says "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."


2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 


Half the time some of us Christians don't really know how to pray on our own, or either we're in a season where we can't find the words to pray or the strength to carry that load by ourselves and that is when we are to step in and carry those burdens for our fellow brothers and sisters in prayer. As I mentioned earlier we are to pray and intercede for them; after all, they are the body of Christ and we need every last one of them on this journey called life.

If you've never prayed with someone or for someone other than yourself before I encourage you to do so, there is so much freedom and power when we lay aside our needs to pray for someone else's needs. Not only do you feel the freedom and power but so does the person you are praying with/for. And if you are reading this and your prayer life isn't where you know it should be I want to personally encourage you to P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens) through it!



I love you all <3

Your sis in Christ,

 Joy J

For Such A Time As This!

Ever wonder why you out of all your friends and family have endured the process of following Christ and have never given up completely? I know I have. I always would wonder why after everything that I've gone through; how was I chosen? Why would God want to use me and then God spoke to me and said that "I have called you for such a time as this. Because of your struggle, because of your faithfulness, because of your brokenness I am going to draw my people back to Me and save them." Through it all He was preparing me for this time!

When I heard those words I just began to praise Him, I was so in awe after hearing that this morning. I than opened up my bible to Esther 4: 14 ^"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" During this time Esther's family (the Jews) were in great trouble; they were about to be put to death and Mordecai, Esther's uncle, sent word to tell her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. At that time any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. So here is Mordechai telling his niece to go before the king knowing that she made be killed but he knew that she was their only hope because she is the queen living in the kings palace. What Esther didn't realize is that God placed her in that position for such a time as that, where she would have access to the king and plead for the lives of her family. And as I was reading this God reminded me that He has placed me and you in a position for such a time as this! Their are some of you reading this that need to go before the King of Kings and plead on the behalf of the lives of your unsaved family members and friends; it's not by accident that you are where you are. He placed you in this position because He trusted you! He knew that this day would come that He would need you to intercede for them because they can't reach Him. 

What stood out to me in that verse above is when Mordecai said "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish." And a lot of us are remaining silent and allowing the enemy to just come in and take over our families why we just sit back and watch in fear. And I'm speaking to myself because for so long I've been quiet, for so long the enemy has tried to quiet my mouth BUT God said "FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!" Your family and friends relief and deliverance is in you! You have access the throne of grace. It's time we start making some noise and calling out those lost loved ones by name! This world isn't getting any better and we as Christians just can't sit back in silence any longer. We have been silent for too long! What is it going to take you to save those you love?  The enemy is out to kill our families, and he's out to kill you and anyone else who is trying to stop him. But unlike Esther we don't have to fear going to the KING because He told us to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). You were created for such a time as this! This generation needs someone like you. Stay encouraged and war for your family! We are on the winning side!!

Love ya'll

-Joy J <3