09/04/2018
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Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment}
What
a POWERFUL SCRIPTURE. We {all of God's Children, LGBTQI+ included} have a HIGH
PRIEST of the ORDER of Malkezedek according to Hebrews 7:17.
What does this mean for us as Followers of Christ Jesus?
This means we not only have a FRIEND John 15:15 , we have a HIGH PRIEST making intercession for us to the MASTER CREATOR GOD ALMIGHTY.
I don't know about you, but I can say for me that is very EXCITING NEWS. Since Jesus came to earth as a "MAN" who followed after the Father God's Heart, walked among the people and committed no sin yet was tried and died as one who had sinned, God has glorified Him as our mediator {the ONLY LIVING SOVEREIGN KING}.
Our KING and SAVIOR who calls us FRIEND gives us amazing encouragement in learning how to use the POWER of PRAYER to see the glory of GOD revealed on earth. We also learn from other's examples of why our prayers are not answered. Let's take a look at some of those powerful SCRIPTURES now.
Matthew
18:18-20 I assure you and most solemnly say to you,
whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and
unlawful] on earth shall have
[already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth shall have [already] been loosed in heaven. “Again I say to you, that if two believers
on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will
of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two
or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as
My followers], I am there among them.”
I desire to please my Heavenly Father. I do NOT need approval or praise from anyone in this world. We should give God the glory for giving us the POWER of PRAYER that brings healing to others and salvation to those who are lost.
Let these next few Scriptures give you encouragement, knowing that the POWER of GOD through PRAYER and FASTING will be manifested in your life as you build your FAITH through continual {DAILY} PRAYER.
Mark 9:15-29 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were startled and began running up to greet Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” One of the crowd replied to Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him [intending to do harm], it throws him down, and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it.” He replied, “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When the [demonic] spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood. The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse [so still and pale] that many [of the spectators] said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” He replied to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father] and fasting.”
One last instruction from Jesus concerning PRAYER and FASTING that will help you in your daily PRAYER time with HIM.
The fewer the words the better prayer. ~ Martin Luther
Prayer is an effort of will. ~ Oswald Chambers
Our prayer and God’s mercy are like two buckets in a well; while one ascends, the other descends. ~ Arthur Hopkins
If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for. ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should. ~ A.W. Tozer
Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part. ~ Andrew Murray
Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. ~ Corrie Ten Boom
Prayer is the acid test of devotion. ~ Samuel Chadwick
Prayer – secret, fervent, believing prayer – lies at the root of all personal godliness. ~ Williams Carey
For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time. 1Timothy 2:5-6
Psalm
107:28-30 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out
of their distresses. He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper, So that the waves of the sea were still. Then they were glad because
of the calm, and He guided them to their desired haven
(harbor).
Matthew
7:7-8 Ask
and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on
seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will
be opened to you. For everyone who
keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who
keeps on knocking, it will be opened.
Matthew
21:21-22 Jesus
replied to them, “I
assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow
yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to
the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown
into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it]. And
whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Mark
11:24 For this reason
I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they
will be given to you.
John
14:13-14 And
I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may
be glorified and celebrated in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.
James
1:6-8 But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s
willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the
sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For
such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything
[at all] from the Lord, being a
double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything
he thinks, feels, or decides].
James
4:2-4 You do not have
because you do not ask [it of God]. You ask [God for something] and do not
receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an
unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on
your [hedonistic] desires. You adulteresses
[disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you
not know that being the world’s friend [that, loves the things of the world] is
being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself
an enemy of God.
James
5:14-18 Is
anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the
church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord; and the prayer of faith will restore the one
who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will
be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one
another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you
may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer
of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and
made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same
physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely
for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and
six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced
its crops [as usual].
So far we have learned that God hears our cries in our times of struggle and calms the storm to comfort us. We have also learned that we must have FAITH at all times, sometimes we need to join with others to increase our FAITH, keep on praying until your prayers get answered, do not doubt GOD, we must not love the things of this world, and sometimes you must call to the Elders in the church for prayer.
Learning the POWER of PRAYER and how to obtain the answers from GOD is so exciting. Prayer is so important to God that we are encouraged to PRAY daily. Jesus instructs us to NOT be showy like the hypocrites who have to be NOTICED when they pray. When we pray we need to have a personal quite time with the Lord.
Matthew 6:5-6 Also, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray [publicly] standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. But
when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray
to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
I desire to please my Heavenly Father. I do NOT need approval or praise from anyone in this world. We should give God the glory for giving us the POWER of PRAYER that brings healing to others and salvation to those who are lost.
Let these next few Scriptures give you encouragement, knowing that the POWER of GOD through PRAYER and FASTING will be manifested in your life as you build your FAITH through continual {DAILY} PRAYER.
Mark 9:15-29 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were startled and began running up to greet Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” One of the crowd replied to Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him [intending to do harm], it throws him down, and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. I told Your disciples to drive it out, and they could not do it.” He replied, “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When the [demonic] spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood. The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse [so still and pale] that many [of the spectators] said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” He replied to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father] and fasting.”
Acts
9:40 But Peter sent
them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body
he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she
sat up.
Ephesians
6:18 With all prayer
and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and
in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all
perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.
Philippians
4:6-7 Do
not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every
circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue
to make your [specific] requests known to God. And
the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which
transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
One last instruction from Jesus concerning PRAYER and FASTING that will help you in your daily PRAYER time with HIM.
Matthew
6:7-18 “And
when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they
think they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows
what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our
Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And
forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors
[letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. ‘And
do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
If you forgive others
their trespasses [their reckless and willful
sins]; your heavenly Father will also forgive
you. But if you do not forgive others
[nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your
relationship with God], then your Father will not
forgive your trespasses. “And whenever you are fasting,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a sad and dismal face [like actors, discoloring their faces with ashes or dirt] so that their fasting may be seen by men. I assure you and
most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on
your head [as you normally would to groom your
hair] and wash your face so
that your fasting will not be noticed by people, but by your Father who is in
secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
I pray this short lesson on the POWER of PRAYER has been encouraging to you while giving you a better understanding of just how POWERFUL God working through each of us can be if we only believe.
Blessings and Peace,
Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a
scourge for Satan. ~ John Bunyan
The fewer the words the better prayer. ~ Martin Luther
Prayer is an effort of will. ~ Oswald Chambers
Our prayer and God’s mercy are like two buckets in a well; while one ascends, the other descends. ~ Arthur Hopkins
If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for. ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should. ~ A.W. Tozer
Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part. ~ Andrew Murray
Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. ~ Corrie Ten Boom
Prayer is the acid test of devotion. ~ Samuel Chadwick
Prayer – secret, fervent, believing prayer – lies at the root of all personal godliness. ~ Williams Carey
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