40 Days of Prayer-Day 30

40 Days of Prayer-Day 30

Obedience and abiding go hand in hand. That is when we abide in Christ and He abides in us, obedience to the 10 commandments becomes a part of us. The 10 commandments are inseparably connected to God’s love. The first four commandments reveal how we are to love God and the last 6 commandments reveal how we are to love others. Thus, summed up —Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matt. 22:35-40. The Word gives us practical advice on how this love should look. Put away lying and speak truth, be angry but sin not, don’t let the sun go down on your anger, don’t steal but work, don’t let corrupt communication come out of your mouth, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit, put away all  bitterness, wrath, evil speaking, and malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving, even as Christ has forgiven you. Eph. 4:22-32. We should owe no one anything except to love one another. Love works no harm or ill to anyone. This fulfills the lawn and exhibits the attitudes and behaviors the Lord wants us to exhibit in our lives. Rom. 13:8-10. PRAYER: Father, baptize us with your Holy Spirit and bring truth and revival into our lives and our churches. Remove our rebellion and backsliding and write your 10 commandments on our hearts and lead us to allow Jesus to live out His life of obedience in us.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 29

40 Days of Prayer-Day 29

Sanctification is righteousness by faith. It is simply looking to Jesus to manifest His righteous life of victory in our lives. Heb 12:1-2. The perfect qualities of Jesus are imparted to us as a gift, not gradually but instantly once we enter into the realization that Jesus became holiness for us. We don’t have to try to be holy. That’s imitation. We don’t have to draw from Jesus the power to be holy. When we accept righteousness by faith, Jesus imparts His holiness to us. He gives us what He has. His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, godliness etc. This is impartation, not imitation. Our job is not to imitate but to choose to let Christ impart His virtues to us, and  believe it will happen. Then slowly but surely we begin to live a life of order, soundness, consistency, and holiness, kept by the power of God. (1 Peter 1:5). When unrighteous desires come, don’t fight them (that’s our own strength and we will surely fail). But turn to Christ who is living in us and ask Him to manifest His righteousness in us. Heb. 12:1-2. Then we simply wait in faith believing He will do it, because those who are waiting for Him will be like Him when He comes back. 1 John 3:2. PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit and bring truth and revival into our lives and our churches. Lead me to allow Jesus to fully manifest His righteousness in me through faith in Him. Pour out of your spirit on us and cause us grow and to come into the fullness of Christ.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 28

40 Days of Prayer-Day 28

Most of  us live a life of sporadic obedience and broken promises to God. But how do we experience a life of victory through Christ over every temptation and sin Satan brings our way? How do we allow Christ to live out His victorious life over sin in us? We have to believe that He lives in us through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and He will manifest His love, pure and holy, virtuous thoughts in our minds. It's a matter of faith. Rom 6:6, 11-14, Isa. 26:3-4, John 15:4-5, Eph 3:16-167, Gal 2:20, John 14:16-18, 1 John 3:24, 1 Cor 2:16. Practical steps we can take to achieve this is (1) turn your mind immediately away from the temptation Satan presents. Phil 4:8, (2) believe that Christ has broken the power of your sinful nature and temptation at the cross, (3) believe Jesus is in you and ask Him to manifest His virtue in you in relation to the temptation. Be specific, (4) Believe He will manifest Himself and don't fight the temptation yourself. When we do that, we are really trying to resist in our own strength rather than looking to Jesus for  victory. Heb 12:1-2, (5) thank Him for the deliverance He has just given you.

PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit, and bring truth and revival to us and your church. Lead me to let Jesus live out His victorious life in me when I am tempted to sin. Help us to believe that the greatest power in this world lives in us through your Holy Spirit.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 27

40 Days of Prayer-Day 27

When Jesus died on the cross, Satan’s power over us including the power of our sinful nature was forever broken. Rom 6:6, 11. That  means all our sinful tastes, desires and propensities were defeated at the cross and we no longer have to be controlled by them. But we have to believe this reality. But belief alone is not enough. As Christians we often struggle with our besetting sins. Those sins we just keep repeating over and over again. We can believe and feel great relief that Satan’s power over us was defeated at the cross and even gain confidence that the next time we are faced with the temptations that cause us to fall, we will finally have the victory. But then the temptation arises and we fall again. We plead with God to remove our sinful response to the temptation but we continue to experience defeat.  That is because above and beyond our belief that the power of our sinful nature was broken at the cross, we have no power in and of ourselves to obey God. It is only through Christ living in us that He gives us His victory over sin. We cannot substitute our own righteousness for the righteousness of God. Rom 10:3-4. We have to submit ourselves to Him and die to self, so that we may gain Christ’s righteousness. PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit and bring truth and revival into our lives and churches. Reveal to me how to let Jesus live out His life of victory in me. Strengthen me with might by your Spirit in the inner man. Fill me with your love and help me to reveal that love to others.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 26

40 Days of Prayer-Day 26
Through the new covenant God wrote His laws on the hearts of every individual. Heb. 8:8-10, 2 Cor. 3:3. However, God knew the struggle the Christian would have between obeying the law of sin and the law of God, especially now that it was written into his very being. The Apostle Paul described it as wanting to do right but not doing it, and not wanting to do wrong but doing it anyway. Rom 7:14-25. The unbeliever has no struggle. He simply wants to do wrong and does wrong. But because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is now faced with this struggle day after day, month after month, year after year. Who will rescue us from this law of sin and death? Deliverance is through Christ living in us (through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.) Rom 7:24-25. There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Rom 8:1-4.  Christ living in us sets us free from this constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit, evil and good. The righteous requirements of the law will be fulfilled in us when we have Jesus living in us through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:4. PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit, and bring revival into our lives and churches. Lead us to a genuine experience with Christ abiding in us for victory over sin. Give us the wisdom and understanding we need to fully love you and open our eyes to see our sinfulness and your great mercy and forgiveness and your great power that is available to us to overcome every weapon of the enemy.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 25

40 Days of Prayer-Day 25

Many have been burdened by their Christian walk. They have been sporadic in obedience and unfruitful/unfaithful in service, yet longing for a consistently faithful walk with Jesus. All the time struggling with besetting sins which seem to win the battle more often than not. Prayer and bible study often doesn’t bring the victory longed for and a life of continual victory over sin seems impossible. But victory is possible with Christ living in us. This simple truth means that our joy in the Lord can be deep and abiding, our lives consistently victorious over besetting sins. God is calling each one of us to this amazing experience in Christ because Jesus is returning soon and when He does, those who are looking for Him will be like Him. 1 John 3:2.  Our daily experience will become one of complete victory in Christ “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted. He left his case in the hands of God.” 1 Peter 2:21-21 NLT.  God is calling us to a much higher experience with Him than we have ever had. God is offering us a complete union with Christ. Col. 1:27. PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit and bring truth and revival into our lives and churches. Open my understanding to your will that Christ abide in me. Arise in our midst and reveal the glory of your character through us. Draw me and all those around me and in my community to the light of truth.

40 Days of Prayer-Day 24

40 Days of Prayer-Day 24

Christ’s method of witnessing to others was to mingle with them, minister to their needs and win their confidence. Then He bade them “Follow Me.” Christ took the initiative in contacting those around Him. As His followers, we are to do the same.  As we pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we receive more of the love of God, and that love spreads out to others. Rom 5:5. It is through personal contact and association with others that men and women are reached by the saving power of the gospel. As we mingle with others, they will gain confidence in us and experience our love for them and be willing to share their concerns with us. It is for this very reason Christ has led you to them. Christ knows their needs and knows you have the answer for them. He wants to reveal Himself to them through you. So that Christ may use you to effectively witness to others: (1)pray for Christ to continue to fill you with His Spirit and give you a passion for souls, (2)make a list of those in your circle (family, friends, co-workers etc.) that do not know Christ and begin praying for these individuals every day, (use the prayer principles listed in 40 Days of Prayer-Day 23 in your prayers), (3) ask God to provide you opportunities to get close to them in order to help them in some way, (4) when opportunities arise ask God for openings to share Him with them. PRAYER: Father baptize us with your Holy Spirit and lead us to witness as Christ witnessed to others. Let your word not return to you void and bless it where ever it goes.