Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category
The True Freedom Given To All Christians
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Freedom that you cannot earn and can never be taken away, on account of the person and work of someone else, is a Freedom only Christians can experience. The question is, “Have you truly been set free?”
So, first we need to know from what have we been set free, and how did it happen? Quite simply, it took a sacrifice on the part of Jesus to accomplish this feat. We have been set free from the curse of having to be obedient to the law because of what Christ has done for us.
Romans 8:1-4 KJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
In other-words, as it is in the following scripture:
Deuteronomy 8:2 KJV
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
And what happened? We see the answer in Hebrews:
Hebrews 8:9 KJV
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Israel showed that no one could obey the law perfectly and that someone needed to do for them what they could not do for themselves; they needed a Savior.
In short the law became a curse to us because we cannot fully be obedient to the law on account of our sinfulness, so Jesus came and fulled the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf.
As we read in Galatians:
Galatians 3: 10-13 KJV
[10] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. [11] But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. [12] And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. [13] Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
That is why we need to…
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Now that is what true freedom is to all Christians. How about you, have you been set free from the curse of trying to be obedient to the law? Prayerfully, instead you are living the life of faith in Jesus for being obedient for you!,
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A Christians Lifestyle Should Be To Live Peaceably With All Men
Romans 12:18 KJV … If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.
The scripture above is one that is rarely mentioned, less preached on and hardly ever mentioned among born-again Christians. Can you think of any reason why? I am sure you can.
However, living in peace with everyone is the Christian’s responsibility, because of the phrase, “as much as lies in you”. We are not to respond to others being peaceful with us, but for others to respond to us being at peace with them. It is our lot in life to be at peace with others no matter how they treat us.
The question is, how do we go about practicing peace with others as Christ did while here on earth. What scriptures are there to which we can look at that will help us to be at peace with others? Here are three of many scriptures that will help guide us as to what God requires of us in living a life of peace.
They are pretty much self-explanatory.
1 Timothy 2:1-3 KJV
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; [2] For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [3] For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
2 Corinthians 13:11 KJV
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Hebrews 12:14 KJV
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
These last two verses should be more than enough of Godly incentives to instill in us a desire of wanting to do what is necessary in living a life of peace with everyone. Praying for those in authority, from the head of a nation down to the local government, to daily living a life of peace with all men is pleasing to God.
How much are you willing to do in living a lifestyle of peace in order to experience God’s love and peace in this life and in the life to come? Depends on how much you really want to see the Lord and for living in eternity with our Lord Jesus.
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Fourteen Years and 170 Essays Later
It is hard to believe that it has been fourteen years since Riff’s Christian Journal began.
During that time there have been 170 essays written with an average of a thousand words per each one. The longest was around 3000 words and the shortest was about 500 words. Of course, many of these words were actual scripture verses upon which the essays are written.
The first essay, written in June of 2009, is titled, “What I believe About Sin & Salvation”. Since then each entry into the journal has been on a different topic using scriptures for the basis of that entry. The scriptures used were done to support the thesis of the essay proving the premise that is the reason for the essay.
In short, these essays were, in some ways based on the “Five Solos” that came out of the Protestant Reformation movement. These are:
➢ Grace Alone
➢ Faith Alone
➢ Christ Alone
➢ Scripture Alone
➢ To The Glory of God Alone
In studying for these essays, a lot has been learned from the scriptures, especially the differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Most notably were the facts that the Old Covenant is a man-centered works based system of religion under the Law and the New Covenant is a God-centered faith based system under Grace. Not the least is the fact that the Old Covenant is obsolete and fading away (see Hebrews 8: 7 – 13. To find out who is the Israel about which is mentioned in these verses read Romans 9: 6 – 8. Then read Galatians 4: 28 to find out who are the children of the promise mentioned in Romans 9.)
Only as the Holy Spirit has guided this writer have these essays been written. They came not from the one at the keyboard but from the Word itself to be used as an incentive for what was being written, and for the premise that was being put forth for the reader to consider.
The writer is totally convinced that if it were not for the Grace of God these essays would not have been written. It has been humbling, invigorating and quite a wonderful blessing, as well as educational, to be used by God in this manor, and I do give Him all the glory for all that has been written.
As God wills, I look forward to many more years of service in this capacity to the Glory of God.
I would like to leave with you a prayer, using scripture verses from Colossians to all of you for your future as a Christian. These are varied verses from Colossians chapter 1.
King James Version:
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints,
For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
For this cause we also, since the day we heard, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness;
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Amen
May God’s blessings be upon every one of you, and may God give you peace in living a life based on the faith of Jesus that has been given to all God’s children by which you believe in Jesus as Lord
Why My Prayers Failed
Prayer was never easy. In fact, it was very hard because most of my prayers never got answered; at least not in the way that I wanted. So, what was wrong with me?
In Mar 11:24 we read the following comment by Jesus:
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”
On this was what I had based all of my prayers. I prayed for what I desired, believed that I would receive them but I never did get them. That was a real downer.
Have you ever felt that way? Have all of your prayers been answered?
Maybe, I thought, I did not have enough faith in either my praying or in God answering them. I mean, I was once told that my faith was not strong enough to “move God” by my prayers. So, how strong does faith have to be?
Then again, it could have been that I wavered in my belief that I would get my prayers answered in the way that I wanted.
Eventually my prayer life began to dwindle. If I could not pray effectively enough to get God to give me for what I was asking, why pray at all.
I still kept reading the Bible on a fairly regular basis, even if I did not do much in the way of praying, and one day while reading from 1John I read a scripture verse that set off a light bulb. To this day I believe that this was God working in me to see something very important about prayer. In chapter 5 I read the following verses:
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Do you see it? Do you see the reason for why my prayers were not being answered in the way that I wanted?
Read verse 5:14 again… If we ask anything “according to His will”… That was it. Here is why my prayers were not being answered, why I failed at praying. I was not praying in a manor according to the will of God.
You see, I was asking for what I wanted, according to my will, and not for what God wanted, according to His will. Even Jesus knew how important this was by reading what Jesus said in Mark 4:36 the night before He was to face a most horrible crucifixion and death.
Mar 14:36 And he (Jesus) said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.
Jesus knew how bad things were going to be for Him yet He still prayed for God’s will to be done and not His. How much more should we do the same?
If you would like to have an effective prayer life here are three things you can do.
1. Acknowledge that God is sovereign and His will is always accomplished. In Daniel 4:35 we read the following:
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What is it that you do?
2. Speak to God in prayer. Let Him know what are your concerns, worries and needs. Speak from your heart and tell God why you are presenting to Him your petitions. For instance, in Phillipians 4: 6-8 we read this:
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
3. Do no more than Jesus when praying to our Father. Pray your heart felt supplication and why you are making this request, then acknowledge that God is sovereign over all. As we read in Ephesians 1:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
By reading the New Testament on a regular basis, we can learn what God’s will might be for many areas of our life, and during those times we can know that we are praying according to God’s will and be assured that our prayers will be heard and be answered in a way that we wanted.
In addition, when we realize that our prayers may not always be according to Gods will, not knowing what it is that God is going to do, we can acknowledge that we will accept God’s answer to our prayer.
During those times when we do not know the reason for what God is doing, or why, we can still have peace in our hearts with the answer that God gives.
Knowing that God is sovereign and it is He Who works all things after the counsel of his own will, we, too, will be able to say, as Jesus said, “nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.”
If prayer is not being answered in your life you might begin to start all of your prayers, being reminded of God’s will, with the beginning of the model prayer that Jesus gave to all of us. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray like this: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
What Is The Primary Purpose Of Prayer?
Everyone prays at some time or another, but not all prayers receive answers or results in the way that the person who prayed wanted.
Let us get this out of the way before we go one-step further. Unless you are a Christian, a true disciple of Jesus, God does not hear your prayer and it will not receive an answer. The bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. That is a topic for another post.
Now, since that is out of the way we can proceed.
Most Christians, who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, in one way or another, will always worry when they pray. Maybe it is about how they prayed, was it good enough. On the other hand, it could be they will worry that their prayer will not receive an answer or, if it is, the answer is not what they want.
Do you have peace when you pray? If not, why not? It is because you are not sure if the answer to your prayer will be what you are wanting it to be, even if you receive an answer at all.
The secret to having peace when you pray is simple. Read the following verses:
Eph_1:5 (KJV) according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph_1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
Eph_1:11 (KJV) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Jn_5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
God is in charge. There is nothing done outside His will. We have an imperfect will. God has a perfect will. Unless we realize that “God’s will” will always be done we will always pray for what we want expecting to get our own way, and be upset if we do not. However, in God’s perfect will, what He wants He will always accomplish.
We cannot change God’s will, never could and we will never be able to do so. Imagine an imperfect, sin infested human, telling God what He should do because it was you who asked Him.
You see, the secret to prayer is just telling God about why you are praying and what it is that you would like to see because of your prayer; there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we trust in Him no matter how He responds to your prayers, and accept His will.
God may not answer right away because it is not time to answer. He already knows what the proper time will be to respond. In addition, the answer may not be what you want, but it will be what God wants, and God only wants you to trust in Him for the response that He gives.
We must realize that God’s timing is always the right time. In addition, the answer that He gives is always the right answer. God always knows what is best as He always does according to His will.
When we finally realize that God always works all things according to His will is when we can start having peace in our prayers. God knows why we pray and what we would like, but our will is not always the best response. God wants us to trust in Him fully, completely and lovingly in His answer to our prayer.
No matter what we pray or what we would like for the answer to be, when we trust in the Lord for His response, no matter what it is, then we can have true peace in our prayers for we know that they will “always” be answered according to God’s will.
Just pray and then trust in the Lord for the right answer. For the primary purpose of prayer is just learning to know God’s will in all things and then trusting in Him for the answer that He gives.
Riff's Christian Journal 