in Jeremiah 23:29 the Bible reads is not my word like a fire says the Lord and like a hammer that breaks the Rock in pieces these are symbolic descriptions as God Likens his word to Fire and a hammer but why fire why would God liken his word to a fire I believe that this is because fire destroys impurities refining with flame is one of the old oldest methods of purifying metals and just like how metal can be purified Through Fire our hearts our souls our impurities are refined through the word of God that's why God
Likens his word to Fire and when you look at a hammer and you look at the word of God being described as being like a hammer you have to understand that the same Hammer that destroys can also build or strengthen and reinforce the word of God God is like a hammer that destroys evil it crushes a person's Unholy conscience because it is God's very own word you cannot deal with God and not change you cannot meditate on the word of God and not be changed Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the
word of God so the word of God is like a hammer that helps to build Faith another characteristic about the word of God is that it is like a mirror James 1:23 says for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror the word of God is like a mirror and what does a mirror do it allows one to see their blemishes and Imperfections the word of God shows us the true reflection of what we are to Aspire to in terms
of being Christlike and therefore we can see ourselves and see where we fall short in comparison to his word so will you make a choice today to meditate on the word of the Lord will you make it a habit to meditate on the things of God have you ever noticed how the word of God takes a deeper meaning when you're facing certain situations in your life when you're worried when you're anxious perhaps you're anxious about your finances or maybe your health well the word of God says in Philippians 4:6 be anxious for nothing but in
everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God or how about when you feel threatened or when you face something that makes you feel afraid the Bible says in 1 Timothy 1 verse 7 for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind perhaps you are unsettled within you maybe your heart is trouble well John 14:1 says let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me I urge you today to get to know the
word of God for yourself get God's word within you read scripture as all often as you can memorize Bible verses and meditate on them as often as you can these are basic things that we should be doing as Christians and the reasons we should be doing this is because we're told in Joshua 1:8 that this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and
then you will have good success the importance of God's word is also made clear in Colossians 3:1 16 as it reads let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with Grace in your hearts to the Lord and if you're wondering why God's word is so powerful well it's powerful because of its longevity the word of God has withstood the test of time and we're told in Matthew 24:35 Heaven and Earth will pass away but my words will by no
means pass away another reason why God's word is so powerful is because it cleanses it transforms the sinner's mind mind it reconstructs the sinner's heart Psalms 119: 9-16 how can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word with my whole heart I have sought you oh let me not Wander from your Commandments your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you blessed are you oh Lord teach me your statutes with my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth I have rejoiced in
the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways I will Delight myself in your statutes I will not forget your word when problems arise and when battles confront us when life pushes us and we find our backs against the wall the word of God has to be a source of constant reassurance to us the word of God has to be that which ignites the fire in our faith it must Kickstart Our Hope and belief so that regardless of what you're facing despite the size
of the enemy despite whatever is taking place in our lives we have a Divine and Heavenly insurance policy and that is the word of God and so people of God I urge you look at Luke 4 closely Jesus was in the wilderness and he was tempted by the devil Luke 4: 3-4 says the devil said to him if you are the Son of God command this Stone to become bread and Jesus answered him it is written man shall not live by bread alone in verses 5-6 the devil continued his advances and he offered Jesus the
kingdoms of the world but in Luke 4:8 here's how Jesus responded it is written you shall Worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve now the devil was audacious and he thought to try and tempt Jesus a third time in verse 9 he takes Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple and he says if you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here but once again Jesus responds in verses 10 and 11 saying for it is written he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone now I want you to understand that the devil tempted Jesus three times and each time Jesus referred to the word of God the devil knocked three times and each time he was answered with the word of God the devil offered riches he said if it's money you want worship me if it's power you want worship me Jesus was offered the kingdoms of this world by Satan but Jesus was content he was full of God's word he
was satisfied with God's word three times Jesus responded by saying it is written and he referred to the word of God so let me ask you people of God when the devil tempts you how will you respond what will you respond saying when the devil knocks at the door of your house and he tries to convince you to let him in how will you respond do you have enough of God's word in you to resist do you have enough of God's word in you to fight to be certain that we do we need to dwell
and meditate on the word of God because it tells us all we need to know about how to resist the devil how to defeat the Devil and how to be protected against the devil first Peter 5: 8-10 says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced Ed by your Brotherhood in the world but may the God of all Grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have
suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you now let's go to God In Prayer Lord Jesus you are great and you're mighty Lord I I pray that your word may be kept hidden in my heart may I live my life according to the principles and the commands that are in your word Lord I pray that the Holy Spirit would bring the word of God to Life For Me may he bring it to life in me may your word be ingrained in my heart and should the devil try to tempt me let your word rise
up in me should the devil try to lure me with riches with fame or anything in this world God help me to remember that your word in 1 Corinthians 10: 13 it says no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the Temptation will also make the way of Escape that you may be able to Bear it lord it's in you that I find satisfaction it's in you that I find contentment if I hunger
you are the bread of life if I thirst I will come to you Jesus because I know that in you my heart will flow rivers of Living Water keep me strong Lord Jesus help me to reject the advanced of Satan help me to declare your word when I'm confronted by evil Lord I stand on your word because it says in Isaiah 41:13 for I the Lord your God hold your right hand it is I who say to you fear not I am the one who helps you Lord I Thank you for such a promise I
will not fear because my my help comes from an almighty God although the devil may work against me I trust you to help me Lord although my enemies may come against me I trust you to be my Defender Lord Jesus indeed a thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand but it shall not come near me because I have Jesus Christ as my refuge Lord I stand on your word that says in Psalm 27:1 the Lord is my light and my salvation Whom Shall I Fear the Lord is the stronghold of
my life of whom shall I be afraid although the struggles of life may come in all shapes and sizes you my Lord are a stronghold in the day of trouble Lord I'm secure assured by your promises because you're a God who has never lost a battle a God who has never been defeated nor can you ever be defeated so whatever comes against me I know that I have a strong and mighty God who is fighting for me Father together with everyone listening we pray and declare that we have Victory in Jesus we are more than
conquerors according to God's word we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ so right now Master be praised be glorified God and Lord I thank you I thank you for listening to this prayer it's in Jesus name that I pray along with my brothers and sisters in Christ amen dear friends the focus of today's prayer is all to do with our habits habits can reveal important things about our lives our habits reflect our thoughts our habits reflect our priorities but our habits also reflect where our hearts are and your heart is only ever in
one of two places with God in his will and in obedience to his word or it's a in the world and in darkness and people always think when we say Darkness we mean witchcraft or evil rituals darkness is absence from God you don't have to be a bad person to be in darkness you don't have to be an evil person to be in darkness it's a state of being away from God that's Darkness God is light God is life Jesus said in John 8:12 I am the light of the world whoever follows me will not
walk in darkness but will have the light of life that's why the Bible says do not conform to this world because the moment you conform you're in darkness you're in darkness because you have conformed to an authority that is not Godly the Bible says repeatedly do not fear why because there is no fear in Jesus and if you walk in him you walk in light you walk with a sound mind in a spirit of power and love but if you walk in fear you walk in darkness because fear is not nor can it be found
in the Lord you find fear when you move out of the light and walk in darkness one of the most popular phrases is walk by faith not by sight but think about it when you walk by faith you see Jesus when you walk by faith God's word is a lamp unto your feet but when you walk by sight you see this world you see Darkness that's what walk by faith not by sight really means walk in the light of God not in the darkness of this world so once again where are your habits leading you
to walk by faith to walk in light in Jesus or to walk in the world to walk in darkness people today are unaware that your habits the things that you do day in and day out the things that control you can lead you to Dark Places darkness is not just some evil Corner in hell where all demons and bad spirits meet up you can be going to church but if God isn't the number one priority in your life then you're in darkness if God's not first if there isn't a burning desire to know him to
obey him then you're in darkness and here's what happens when people don't have God first in their hearts some will be controlled by their work their business or money for them it's all about working it's all about their career when really it should be all about the Lord some people become slaves to jealousy and envy if it looks good makes them feel good they want it and if you have something they don't then jealousy kicks in be careful about your habits be careful concerning where your habits will take you and so I want us for
the next few moments to go before the Lord and pray that he will give us Godly habits may he help us to cultivate habits that will bring us closer to him the Bible in Galatians 6:9 says let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up don't get tired of doing good on a daily basis that is people of God we need to develop strong routines that are firmly centered around Jesus Christ and one of the main habits that we need to
develop is daily communion with the Holy Spirit the Amplified translation for Ephesians 5:18 says do not get drunk with wine for that is wickedness corruption stupidity but be filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly Guided by him when we're filled with the Holy Spirit then that means we're always led by the spirit it means we're constantly being Guided by the spirit it's a state of dependency you're no longer dependent on yourself or on your resources or your circle of influence but you're dependent on the Holy Ghost day in and day out that's why it's so
important to be filled with the Holy Spirit you find that when you're filled with the Holy Spirit you're more sensitive to the voice of God your heart becomes more responsive to the things of God to the instructions of God with the Holy Spirit you can read enjoy and understand the word of God in a way that's different than if you tried it on your own so strive to make it a habit that each day you spend time with the Holy Spirit spend that time developing and building a relationship with the Lord through the help the
guidance and the leadership of the Holy Ghost now let's go to God In Prayer dear father God I thank you I honor you and I Praise You Lord I Thank you for being more than enough and all that I need God I thank you for giving me life giving me health and giving me another chance and Lord as I come before you today I ask that you would help me to be a believer who fully depends on you Lord I pray that I would be someone who's completely devoted to you may the Holy Spirit influence
me on a daily basis Ephesians 5 veres 1 and 2 say therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Aroma Lord Jesus my desire is to imitate you when you walked on this Earth the Bible tells us us that you often withdrew from the disciples you often withdrew from other people so that you could pray to God the father and Lord I pray that you would give me that same Grace
to model my life around the example that you set help me to withdraw from the world and from all the business of life so that I can spend time alone with you in prayer Lord let that be my habit when you walked on this Earth Lord you showed people from all types of backgrounds compassion and love and mercy you would eat with Sinners you would love on those who were shunned by Society help me to love others Lord those who don't look like me who don't sound like me who don't have the same background as
me help me to love my neighbor with a Godly love help me to love others regardless of their sin Lord help me not to judge others because of their sin for I too am a sinner saved by grace one who is in need of your mercy and your compassion King Jesus when you walk this Earth Lord you are about your father's business you put your will aside so that the will of God the father would be done Lord I pray for that kind of heart a heart that puts your will before mine a heart that
puts you first Let It Be My Delight to obey your word and fulfill the purpose and the plans that you have over my life the Bible says in Ephesians 5 verses 15-1 17 therefore see that you walk carefully living life with honor purpose and courage shunning those who tolerate and enable evil not as the unwise but as wise sensible intelligent Discerning people making the very most of your time on Earth recognizing and taking advantage of each OPP opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence because the days are filled with evil therefore do not be
foolish and thoughtless but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is Father please help me to walk uprightly help us as your children to walk with wisdom and honor before you raise us up to be a faithful people a people who are not foolish and thoughtless but raise us up to be a people who understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is raise us up to be a people who are obedient to your will Lord Jesus Lord I ask that you would renew my strength daily I know your grace
is suff sufficient for me each and every day you extend the grace so that I may walk in obedience to your commands Lord I pray that my daily habits would be beneficial to my soul and to my spirit let me not sew into the flesh because the flesh is corrupt and I don't want to reap a corrupt Harvest but instead Lord I I pray that you would revive my spirit Quicken my spirit Lord so that I may sew into that which gives me eternal life and Lord I know that that is you you King Jesus
give me eternal life God I thank you for hearing my prayer I glorify you for being a loving and a caring God it's in the mighty name of Jesus that we pray this prayer amen one of the biggest resources as Christians is prayer prayer for us as Believers is power it's our lifeline and a powerful tool that allows us to knock on Heaven's Door and get God's attention and throughout the Bible many men and women all tapped into the power of prayer their situations might have been different their circumstances might have been different but the
one thing they had in common is that they prayed for an example the Bible says in 1 Chronicles 4:1 and Jaz called on the god of Israel saying oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory that your hand would be with me and that you would keep me from Evil that I may not cause pain so God granted him what he requested the Bible when speaking of Hannah says in 1st Samuel 1: 10 and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept so s when Hezekiah fell ill
the Bible says in 2 Kings 20: 2-3 then he turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the Lord saying remember now O Lord I pray how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart and have done what was good in your sight and Hezekiah wept bitterly and because of his prayer the Lord answered him in verse 5 as the Bible reads return and tell Hezekiah the leader of my people thus says the Lord the god of David your father I have heard your prayer I have seen your tears surely
I will heal you on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord the Bible also tells us in Jonah 2:1 then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly and in the story we're all very familiar with Paul and Silas were imprisoned but the Bible says in Acts 16:25 and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and saying Praises unto God and the prisoners heard them do you see a pattern here in all the verses I've read Hezekiah on his deathbed prayed Jonah in the belly of a
fish prayed Hannah in deep anguish prayed JZ when seeking a blessing prayed so you see prayer is necessary for us and the Bible gives us all these different examples of men and women who sought after the Lord in prayer so that we can learn and be encouraged no matter where you are God can hear you if you pray whether you're underwater God can hear you if you're at the end of your life God can still hear you no matter your situation I encourage you to pray prayer still works God still hears prayers the Lord still
answers prayers if you call unto the Lord his word says I will show you Great and Mighty things which you do not know Jesus Christ is faithful and merciful when you cry out in faith let us pray Lord Jesus we give you praise and honor we glorify your name and we are thankful for your goodness give us Grace in our prayer lives and strengthen us to pray with fervency to pray with boldness and Faith strengthen our prayer lives Master the Bible tells me that Jesus while on this Earth prayed he prayed in the morning he
prayed often he would separate himself from those around him just to pray I pray for the same discipline father we pray for the same heart of prayer give us a strong desire to pray may it become a habit may it become a routine and a lifestyle in jesus' name I pray let us become believers who when faced with anything our first instinct is to turn to the Lord in prayer if we are struggling with anything May the Holy Spirit remind us to pray before I seek a solution elsewhere in the Bible Daniel Prayed and he
kept praying until you gave him an answer father give us this same Relentless Spirit to pray and to keep seeking you until the Breakthrough comes help us to keep persevering and fighting on our needes never giving up until we hear from you father we understand that a prayerless Christian is powerless a prayerless Christian is disconnected to their only source of power which is you Lord so I ask that the Holy Spirit would be our strength and help us to pray and to pray often help us to be diligent and alert so that we would not
be distracted by anything or anyone when it's time to pray thank you Lord Jesus for the victory that is in your name and Lord as we agree in prayer help us never to leave the door open to the kingdom of darkness because of a lack of prayer help help us never to leave our guard down when it comes to prayer release an unquenchable desire within our hearts to pray make us prayer warriors in your kingdom Lord Jesus make us prayer warriors who are dedicated and committed to maintaining a close relationship with you give us the
strength and discipline to get on our knees every day acts 2:1 177 says and it shall come to pass in the last days Seth God I will pour out of my spirit upon All Flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams pour out your spirit in our lives Lord Jesus I pray that you would revive our prayer Lives May you birth a new passion within us a passion that is prayer we desire to experience your presence don't pass by without pouring
out your spirit over our lives and our homes may we become believers who are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit when when he leads us to pray help us to make sure that we are never so busy with worldly things so that we would miss a Divine appointment with you but I pray that our hearts would always put you first Lord I pray that our passion would only be for the things of God be glorified and magnified be lifted High King Jesus I bless your name and I thank you for hearing this prayer
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray amen [Music]
