Prayer: God Guides You To Be More Like Christ

“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”(James 3:17 NIV)

If you want to recognize God’s voice and figure out whether you have an impression from him or not, first you need to ask if the idea agrees with the Bible.

Then, you need to ask, “If I follow through on this impression, will it make me more like Christ?”

Philippians 2:5 says, “In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus” (NCV). God’s goal is to make us more like Christ, so he would not give us an impression that would lead us in a direction opposite that goal.

James 3:17 is a great checklist for helping you to see if something is an impression from God when it comes to the character qualities of Jesus Christ: “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (NIV).

If your idea or impression is impure, then it’s obviously not from God. This may sound pretty simple, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I meet who are trying to convince themselves that an impure impression is somehow from God.

Is the impression peace loving? God’s going to give impressions that promote harmony and not conflict.

Is it considerate? When God gives you an impression, he is concerned about the impact that impression is going to have on somebody else. He’s not going to give you impressions that mess up other people’s lives.

Is this impression submissive? That’s not a word that we use very much, but it simply means humble, teachable, and not arrogant. If you’ve really heard from God, then you’re not going to be afraid to test that idea by sharing it with others and getting their input.

Is it full of mercy? I’ve met a lot of people who think they have heard from God and yet they’re the most judgmental, condemning, and negative people. Those people haven’t heard from God. They’ve heard from their own prejudices and anger. If you really hear from God, it makes you full of mercy.

Is it impartial and sincere? An idea from God won’t make you manipulate and control others.

Checking an impression against these seven character qualities of Jesus Christ will help you know if your idea is from God and if it will make you more like Jesus.

Source: http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/full-post/prayer-god-guides-you-to-be-more-like-christ

Fathers: Pray Fervently For Your Children

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV). 

Jesus reflected the father heart of God when He prayed for the disciples. As a father, or mother, you can pray that your children will focus on the five purposes of God.

God’s five purposes for your children are the same as God’s five purposes for your life, and the same as the five purposes for the church. Jesus prayed for all five purposes in the lives of those He was leading. 

Jesus said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9 NIV). 

We can pray that our children will live for Christ joyfully: “I say these things while I’m still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have” (John 17:13 GWT). 

We can pray that our children will grow strong spiritually: “I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15 NLT). 

We can pray that our children will serve Christ effectively: “Make them ready for Your service through Your truth; Your teaching is truth” (John 17:17 NCV). 

We can pray that our children will experience fellowship personally: “My prayer . . . is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are one, Father . . . and the world will believe You sent me” (John 17:21 LB). 

We can pray that our children will bring others to Christ regularly: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in Me because of their message” (John 17:20 TEV). 

Even if you are not a father, or a mother, you will help others move toward the heart of God by praying for them and the purposes God has planned for their lives.

Source: http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/full-post/fathers-pray-fervently-for-your-children

Where will you spend your eternity

Dear friend,


You are in serious danger if you have not YET surrendered your life to to CHRIST and living a holy life.

The first danger you are in is the danger of being harmed or even eliminated by the enemy - Satan at
any point in time, anyhow, anywhere (because anyone living outside CHRIST is just like a sitting duck - a willing and helpless prey in the hands of the enemy). 

The second danger is that of being eternally condemned to Hell fire after death (Revelations 9:27 , 20:15). Therefore, do the needful now, surrender your life to CHRIST, jettison all your sins, begin to live a holy life, and you'll be sure of both a good and fulfilling life on earth, and everlasting peace and joy with GOD after your sojourn on earth.

How to pray

TEXT: LUKE 18:1-8

INTRODUCTION:

Prayer is the responsibility of every Christian. God’s word tells us to pray. But we don’t pray just because we have to; we pray because talking to God is a privilege. Prayer is entering into relationship with God so we can determine His will in any matter and call His will into existence upon the earth. Prayers and references to prayer appear in sixty-two of sixty-six books of the Bible, all except the Song of Solomon, Obadiah, Haggai, and 2 John. Generally speaking the Old Testament contains more information about prayer, and the New Testament stresses the importance of prayer. We can divide prayers into two groups, those in which we ask God for something and those in which we tell Him something.

 A. THE KINGDOM PARTNERSHIP OF PRAYER    
Prayer makes a way for God to act sovereignly on earth. Jesus said to pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt.6:10). God has chosen to work through people, not around them. Therefore, He also says, “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). The obvious inference is that God has limited some of HIS activities on the earth and will respond only to the prayers of His children. Heaven waits for those of us on earth to pray for things to happen. (see Isa. 43:26; Jer. 1:12).

Question: What do you understand by the Sovereignty of God? Discuss Hebrew 4:14-16

B. THE MINISRY OF PRAYER

Ministry to God must come before ministry to people. First Peter 2:9 says that you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light”. The role of the priest is to minister first to God; then to the people. The way that we minister to God is by praising, worshiping and communing with Him in prayer and meditation. The way that we minister to the people is by allowing the overflow of what we have received in our time alone with Him to pour out into the lives of others (Prov.15:8; 1 pet.2:5; Eph. 1:4-5; 2Cor.5:21; Heb. 4:16)

C. THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER
Prayer was a priority in Jesus’ life. He considered it more important than physical rest, and He was commonly pictured praying all night (see Luke 6:12). Talking with the Father took priority over His social activity. Scripture often refers to Jesus going off alone to be with the Father (see Matt.14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12). And finally, Jesus made prayer a priority over His physical appetite. He fasted for long periods of time, withdrawing from physical food to spiritual power (Luke 4:2; Matt.6:18,25-31; Heb. 7:25). Prayer was the primary communication link between Himself and the Father. Every major event and every minor decision in Jesus’ life was shrouded with prayer. If we are to be Christlike, or like Christ, we must follow His example. Jesus did not pray because He had to; Jesus prayed because He wanted to be obedient to, united with and empowered by the Father. Prayer is to be our priority for those same reasons. Prayer is the way that we, His branches, draw the nutrients we need from God the Vine to produce the fruit of His Spirit in our lives. And we do this because, as believers, prayer has to be our primary ministry.

Pray without ceasing.

                                                 PRIORITY OF PRAYER

1. Without prayer you receive nothing from God.
2. Without prayer you have no fellowship with God.
3. Without prayer sins cannot be forgiven.
4. Without prayer there will be no revelation for direction from God
5. Without prayer you easily fall in times of temptation Matt.6:13
6. Without prayer you are disobeying God
7. Without praying for others you are sinning against God
8. Pray because it is a command.
9. Pray because it leads away from sin
10. Pray because it is a lifestyle
11. Pray because prayer cancels calamity
12. Pray in all the seven areas of life
13. Pray in all steps of prayer-Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

MEMORY VERSE: Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you…….. (1Samuel 12:23b).

Church of Eternal Life Jos Plateau State.