now there may be some of you who have gotten to a point where you're so low that you think God has forgotten about you there may be someone who finds thems today at a point of uncertainty you don't know whether to turn left or right you don't know whether to cry or smile and regarding whatever it is that's making you feel this way if it's sin if it's an addiction if it's your marriage or if it's the fact you can't seem to find someone to marry if it's your job or financial situation I want to
encourage you to pray about it pray about it before you give up pray about it before you look anywhere else pray about it before you look to anyone else and the reason I'm telling you to pray about it is because too often when we find ourselves in these uncertain positions we either drift away and get lost in the sea of our problems or we start paddling trying to find a way out of our problems we start trying to use our own strength to get out of the mess we're in we do our best to use
our resources and know how just to try to save ourselves but I would like to encourage you to pray about it call on the name that is above every other name the name of Jesus Christ when I read Jeremiah 33:3 which says call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know when I read that scripture I hear the word of God telling me to pray about it whatever situation you face today whatever circumstance or situation God wants you to call to him Psalm 50:15 says call
on me in the day of trouble I will deliver you and you will honor me that means pray about it so let your hope be found in God he says trust me in your times of trouble and I will rescue you he says abide in me and I will restore you he says come to me all who are weary and heavy ladened and I will give you rest as children of God in every battle we find ourselves in we are always fighting from a position of Victory it's not a case that we're fighting for Victory
but rather from Victory because I want you to understand this when you fight for victory then that means your enemy has a chance however in Jesus and with Jesus we have the victory so we fight from a position of Victory and so my message to you is clear don't be disheartened don't be frightened you're not looking to win you're fighting from a position of strength the battle has already been decided and Jesus Christ wins he is undefeated now remember this for the battle in your family you're fighting from a position of Victory because you have
Jesus for that battle concerning your children you're fighting from a position of Victory whatever the fight is that's before you remember that you are fighting from a position of Victory because of Jesus Christ one of the things that I love about the Lord is that he loves to go to the places where he can find those who have been rejected those who have been hurt and abandoned he loves to go to places that nobody puts high on the map in fact Mark 2: 15-17 says while Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house many tax collectors
and sinners were eating with him and his disciples for there were many who followed him when the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the Sinners and tax collectors they asked his disciples why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners on hearing this Jesus said to them it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick I have not come to call the righteous but Sinners this passage epitomizes exactly why I love the Lord he is a God who makes it his business to go and place himself in
a situation where there are those who've been forgotten denied shunned away and pushed to the side God loves to connect with people who others consider to be outcasts he's a God who gives us what we don't deserve we don't deserve eternal life but he offers it to us we don't deserve the great love that he has shown us but he continuously gives it we don't deserve His Amazing Grace but his grace is still sufficient and none of us deserve Mercy but we have to thank the Lord for his Mercy the the Bible says in Lamentations
3: 22 and 23 the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning great is your faithfulness now life can be Bittersweet at times it's a combination of enjoying the good and pressing through the bad it's a balance between working hard and enjoying the fruits of your labor there's a duality to life smiles and tears defeats and victories love and heartbreak and the thing is all of us go through tough times all of us go through Seasons where it seems as though the odds are stacked
against us and pain well pain becomes a feeling we're all too acquainted with in Psalm 119:71 David said it is good for me that I have been Afflicted that I may learn your statutes you see the Lord is concerned more about our character than our comfort level he cares more about our growth as Believers than the number of blessings we receive I would even say that God is more concerned with the state of our hearts than our happiness I believe that as we go through life and face different trials should we remain in the Lord
should we continue trusting in the mighty name of Jesus Christ should we stand firm and believe God's promises to be true then we will experience what the Bible talks about in James chapter 1 veres 2 to 4 as the Bible says consider it nothing but joy my brothers and sisters whenever you fall into various trials be assured that the testing of your Faith through experience produces endurance leading to spiritual maturity and inner peace and let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work so that you may be perfect and completely developed in your
faith lacking in nothing and so with all this fresh on our hearts and in our minds let us go to the Lord in prayer Our dear heavenly father Lord we thank you for another day we thank you for your grace and your mercies that are new Every Morning father I pray that you would strengthen our hearts today May the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith today may he remind us that when the Troubles of Life start to overwhelm us we have a friend in Jesus when our problems are many and we need relief when we need
peace Lord I pray that the Holy Spirit would remind us that we have a friend in Jesus we serve a living God who is more than able to carry our burdens and to give us rest Lord I know that you are an all powerful God there is nothing that is too difficult in my life for you to deal with you still move mountains and you still cause walls to fall there is nothing too big for you and for that Lord I'm Grateful father I'm grateful that you first loved me and I pray that you would
give us the strength to rise up each day and fight against the struggles which seek to weigh us down lord I praise your name for you are the god of the impossible there is nothing too big for you to handle no problem too great no challenge too difficult for you to overcome God I know that you can do anything and I'm asking that in the middle of my weakness would you make your strength known father with each and everyone listening today we bring before you our burdens and our troubles Lord help us not to fear
but to trust you help us not to be discouraged but to have joy in you Holy Spirit help us not to take the goodness and kindness of the Lord for granted Lord I declare my faith in your ability to fulfill every one of your promises to me I know that you will fight for me and you will win the battles in my life Lord you're mighty you're powerful you're righteous and you're true and God I bless your name right now your word says the Lord shall preserve you from all evil he shall preserve your soul
the Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forever or more I bless your Holy Name Lord and I thank you for your promises I confess by faith that my Lord will keep me from all harm Jehovah Gyra will provide a watch over my life and will preserve me from all evil I declare that evil will not touch me or come near my house because my savior will preserve my going out and my coming in you are my shepherd my guide my source of Hope may your name
be glorified Lord Jesus from this day forth and even forever more I pray that the words I have spoken may be established in the name of Jesus thank you for listening to this prayer father thank you for hearing us in Jesus name we pray amen if you go into any family there are Customs there are Traditions they have ways of doing things some eat at the table together every night some go to the local Diner every Christmas Eve and they've done so for the past 20 years if you go to some parts of the world
in certain communities they have their own traditions and Customs certain African traditions require the man to pay a dowy payment to the family of the bride before marriage in certain Jewish communities they have a Coming of Age ceremony a bat mitzvah all across the world people from all kinds of walks of life all have their own traditions and Customs but there is a man in the Bible who had a very interesting custom that he follows and this man is known for other things and I'll tell you his name in a moment but this man had
a custom that constantly brought him closer to God a custom that drove his heart toward the lord and I believe it was his custom what he did on a regular basis it was this that caused him to experience the power of God in his life the man I'm talking about is Daniel and yes we all know Daniel because he was delivered from the Lion's Den but I want to highlight a different side to Daniel that you may never have paid attention to the Bible in Daniel 6:1 says now when Daniel knew that the writing was
signed he went home and in his upper room with his windows open toward Jerusalem he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since early days Daniel's custom was prayer Daniel's habit was prayer and I want you to notice that he prayed in secret his relationship with God was sacred to him it wasn't for public display so that people would say he is Holy no it wasn't for people to see but Daniel went home to his room to his prayer closet and got
on his knees and it was just him and the Lord now the Bible says in Matthew chapter 6: 5-6 and when you pray you shall not be like the Hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men assuredly I say to you they have their reward but you when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly
in the New Testament there is a key message that comes up over and over again and do you know what this message concerns it's about prayer in Romans 12 we're told to be constant in prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5 we're told to pray without ceasing in Ephesians 6 we're told to pray at all times in the book of Colossians chapter 4 We're told to continue steadfastly in prayer in James chapter 5 the Bible says the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working now these are just a few scriptures I haven't
even touched on Jesus's teachings about prayer that are given in the four gospels and so people of god let's fight to pray when life is good remember to pray when life is challenging remember to pray Come Rain or sunshine just pray regardless of the Season you're in you have to fight to pray and you're actually strengthened by those prayers one of the reasons why we have to be so strong in prayer is because as children of God we have enemies we have the devil and his demons to contend with and then we have the world
and the flesh as enemies but I want you to understand that all of these enemies that we face as believers they have one thing in common they cannot win against the power of God they cannot overcome the blood of Jesus the enemies we Face they cannot destroy a person who fears God they cannot overwhelm someone who's always found to be in the posture of prayer now Psalm 34:7 reads the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and he delivers them saints of God I encourage you to find a quiet place to pray
that is your own find a prayer closet find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord a place to meet with your heavenly father in secret away from the constant notifications of a cell phone away from the endless chatter of the television and away from the interruptions of friends and family members the Bible says when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place your father who sees in secret will reward you openly I believe that the Bible tells
us to pray in this manner because we need to respect our time with God we need to give him his due reverence our prayer time ought to be sacred we need to give God honor by shutting off the world and focusing purely on him I changed my own prayer Life by treating it as a Divine appointment with the Lord no interruptions no distractions just time alone with Jesus so here's what I'd like to encourage urge you to do after finding a quiet place to pray Begin by repenting Begin by confessing your sins and asking for
the Lord to have mercy on you because none of us are perfect as humans we sin knowingly and sometimes unknowingly so be mindful of that and then move to ask the Lord to show you if there's anything in your heart in your life that is hindering your walk with him pray from psalm 139:23 3 to 24 which says search me oh God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and Lead Me in the way Everlasting Jesus spoke of a precious promise belonging to
those who have a pure heart in Matthew 5:8 which says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God don't you desire to see God don't you desire to see his hand move and work in your life don't you desire to see his goodness his protection and favor all at work in your life so I encourage you to begin treating your prayer time as a Divine appointment with the Lord my prayer today Lord is that I may be conscious and sensitive about giving you my full undivided attention my prayer today is that God
would help me to find a place far away from the distractions of this world so that I can be fully immersed in his love and in his presence and for every believer listening I encourage you to follow Daniel's example make prayer a daily habitual practice get on your knees often lock yourself in a room with God often be in his presence often and the Lord will surely work wonders in your life Saints God is with us but we must not be blinded to the dangers of prayerlessness prayerlessness opens the door to the enemy prayerlessness results
in a person becoming spiritually dull and desensitized to the things of God now we all know that praying is not easy praying should not be casual it is spiritual warfare that's why the Bible says for the weapons of of our Warfare are not carnal But Mighty through God for pulling down strongholds prayer is a weapon that we can all use as children of God and so I encourage you dear friends do not neglect this weapon of prayer if God is with us who can stand against us who can stand against Jesus no one no man
no demon no devil so fear fear God and pray daily pray without ceasing be constant in prayer God asks in response to prayer so in conclusion I want to remind you to persevere in prayer keep pushing in prayer from the moment you accept the Lord from the moment that you ask Jesus Christ to enter your heart there is an enemy that against you an enemy that tries to distract you from realizing the Abundant Life that God has in store for you but this is no matter to be afraid of it's no matter to be afraid
of as long as you are aware and guarded against the schemes of the enemy the devil attacks your mind because your thought life dominates and controls your attitude controls how you view things it controls how you accept things and how you deal with things your thought life impacts so much that's why it's so very important that you keep a careful watch on your thoughts because your life cannot become any bigger than your thoughts as a man thinks so is he the mind is the spiritual Battleground where the battle is either won or lost Satan is
aware that if he can influence what you think then he can also influence how you behave and act that's why the Bible calls us to meditate on the word of God so that we may be empowered Colossians 3: 1-4 says says if then you were raised with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God set your mind on things above not on things on the earth for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is our life appears then you also
will appear with him in glory regarding this passage of scripture one commentary reads Paul writes to those who are saved by faith in Christ their goal was to live with an eternal perspective rather than a focus on the rules and regulations of this world rather than following a set of rules Christians are to submit Moment by moment to the leading of the Holy Spirit Paul then explains while Believers are to focus on Eternal matters Christians are to set their minds above so to speak because that is where Christ is Christ is not on Earth or
in the grave he is at God's right hand I would like to encourage you to set your minds on things above not on Earthly things we are to set our minds and hearts on Godly things Heavenly things things that concern the kingdom of God make a conscious decision to win the Battle of your mind today don't let negative thoughts or ungodly thoughts contaminate you the scripture tells us to guard our minds because the mind is a doorway and you are the only one who can determine what goes in and what what stays so immerse yourself
in God's word so that you can realize who you are in Christ you are wellable and strong in the Lord sometimes life can get a Sidetrack life can keep us intensely busy and sometimes life can result in us becoming distracted on what should be our number one priority that is Jesus Christ I believe that when Paul encourages us to set our hearts on things above that means waking up every day and saying Lord I am yours be praised today help me to focus on your word and on your will today so would you join me
in this prayer today seeking that the Lord may help me and you to set our minds and hearts to focus our minds and hearts on things above let us pray dear Lord you are gracious and faithful marvelous in all your ways my prayer today is that you would help us to renew our minds help us to focus on the Eternal on Heavenly things help us to have a hunger and a desire to chase heavenly rewards instead of Earthly praise from men I seek to hear the words well done good and faithful servant from you I
ask holy spirit that you help us to stay focused on Jesus Christ help us because so many things are always competing for our attention and we need the supernatural strength that you offer we need your help to keep us from being distracted and being pulled away from God your word in John 15 verse 5-7 says that I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him Bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me he is cast out out as a
branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you thank you for such a promise Lord as we abide in you and as your word abides in US you have promised that whatever we will ask and desire shall be done father may your will be done may your will be accomplished in our lives father give us the grace to be obedient to your word and
to abide in you help me to abide in you and you in me so that I can be a Christian who Bears much fruit in your kingdom keep me from relying ing on my own resources and abiding outside of your will because without you I am like a branch that is withered I thank you for such a promise and I invite you into every area of my mind and heart fill me with your presence Lord I invite you to abide within me and begin to change me inside out so that I can begin to demonstrate
Godly characteristics so that I may begin to show compassion to others so that I can have a humble Spirit a patient and forgiving spirit and above all help me to be a Christian who has and shows the love of Christ to others I pray that if I had my mind and priorities elsewhere may you bring me to a place where my own desire my only focus is chasing after you after your presence in search for direction in my life I pray that you protect me from being led astray by what the world's standards are or
from worldly expectations and behavior Lord Jesus take control of our minds and our thoughts we bless your holy name amen people of God I want to ask you something when was the last time you publicly acknowledged Jesus Christ as your lord and savior now it may have been to a coworker that you see every day or to someone you just met and struck up a conversation with but overall I believe that every single one of us during the course of Our Lives we will have at least one opportunity to publicly declare what we believe and
who we believe in the Bible says in Matthew 10:32 therefore whoever confesses me before men him I will also confess before my father who is in heaven now I don't know about you Saints but here's my confession I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that he is the way the truth and the life and no one can get to the father except through Jesus I believe he is the bread of life he is the one who can sustain us I believe that Jesus Christ is the prince of peace and in him you will find peace
beyond all human understanding I believe Jesus Christ is the light of the world and the Good Shepherd I believe he was a Healer and a miracle worker when he walked here on this Earth and I also believe that he is is still able to do the impossible even today I believe he died on a cross for our sins for my sins and I believe that he rose back to life after three days and ascended on high and right now he is Seated on the right side of the father listen to me in the name of
Jesus there is power Jesus Christ is is the name above every other name he is the author and the finisher of our faith he is the Risen one the almighty one when we speak that name the mighty name of Jesus Christ every sickness has to Bow every disease has to leave every chain has to loose and so here is my word to you as Believers we should not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we should never compromise the word of God so that we can fit into this world we should not be ashamed
of the gospel because the devil in the world oh they are aggressively spreading a message of deception the devil in this world is aggressively trying to lead people away from the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and so it's time that we as Believers of Jesus Christ it's time for us to stand up up and to declare to the world that there is a savior there is someone who can set you free if you're bound there is a redeemer and his name is Jesus Christ Saints we should not be ashamed of the Gospel but as Christians
we must stand up and fight for the gospel we must rise up as Sons and Daughters of the most high and Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord an important element of every believer's life and growth is to have a willing heart a heart that says yes Lord a heart that loves the Lord thy God a heart that says God your will be done above my own wants and needs when we do this when we submit and yield Our Lives to God then we get into a place well we can receive the wonderful gift of the
Holy Spirit and make no mistake people of God every believer needs the Holy Spirit as their teacher we need the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth we need the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the will of God the holy spirit is truly a phenomenal gift to the believer once we tap into his power the Amplified translation of 1 Corinthians 2: 10 says for God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the holy spirit for the spirit searches all things diligently even sounding and measuring the profound depths of God the Divine
counsels and things far beyond human understanding when we invite and allow the Holy Spirit into our lives he helps us to establish a closer relationship with the Lord the holy spirit will be our teacher tugging at our heart and soul teaching us to obey the Lord to stand and to trust fully in God he will enable us to put all of our cares on him for he is greater than any problem it's through the wonderful gift of the holy spirit that we learn to develop a greater Reliance a greater level of trust in the Lord
Almighty when we submit and yield to the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to rely less and less on human understanding on human wisdom or strength we move away from trusting in our own abilities and move to complete and total trust trust in the God of all ages Isaiah 11:2 says the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord did you get that if you need wisdom and understanding pray that the
Holy Spirit will fill you if you need counsel and might if you need knowledge pray that the holy spirit will fill you now finally I would like to read Ezekiel 36: 26-27 which says I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you I will take the Heart of Stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of Flesh I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them let us pray and invite the Holy Spirit into
our lives Lord Jesus thank you for the gift of the holy spirit in your love and mercy you never left us to fend for ourselves here on Earth you never left us to to fight with our own strength but instead you gave us a helper you gave us the Holy Ghost as we pray right now
