Lifewords strength to strength series 19 of 30 Jesus said Pray

lifewords  strength to strength series 19/30  urgent prayer request : for Rosenbohm family, baby boy due to be born in few days,  sudden serious heart situation, emergency c section now with mama Fawn. please pray for this precious one....to our God who is More than Enough,our Healer. thank you so much dear lifewords family. Jesus said PRAY Jesus not only lived a magnificent life of much prayer, and continues to intercede for us as our Great High Priest today, He emphasized the importance of prayer to His followers!  He said that men ought always to pray and not faint. In other words, we should make prayer our daily priority, staying connected to God. Jesus gives us the plan in Matthew 7:7.  "Ask, and you shall receive. Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened." The Holy Spirit will teach us all we need to know about prayer. If we are to live well for Christ and bring His life to this world, we must be people who learn to pray like our Master.  He knew we would need much strength and endurance for the journey and so He teaches us to pray. Remember the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, ".....Give us this day, our daily bread." Each day requires a fresh supply from God. Every believer can learn to pray well! We must be alert in it.  It is the place of communion with our God, it is the well of refreshing and strength, it is the engine of God's plans going forth in the earth, it is the source of true wisdom and discernment, it is the place where we obtain victory over sin and self, it is victorious battlefield of the church against the forces of hell. Prayer is our hearts lifted in thanksgiving and praise. Prayer is waiting, listening, receiving from Him. Prayer is our outstretched hands to our Father for help.  Prayer is us taking our place with the authority He has given us to establish His purposes in this Earth and push back spiritual darkness. Prayer is walking by faith and not by sight. I believe our King said it like this, When you pray, dear ones, go into your room and shut your door and pray to your Father...who sees in secret and will reward you openly. Make it your habit to close the door on the clamor business of life and pray. Prayer never happens by accident. It is always intentional. He will supply all. He IS your supply, and your ALL IN ALL.

Lifewords strength to strength series 19 of 30 Jesus received strength through prayer

lifewords  strength to strength series 19/30  Jesus received Strength through Prayer We receive God's strength in prayer. Jesus, when he walked on this Earth, gave us the supreme example of finding strength in prayer. A prevailing aspect of His life was His habit of prayer. His communion with His Father was paramount and we see His persistence in prayer over and over again in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Prayer was not secondary to our Lord. He was continually meeting with the Father in fellowship, in preparation, in needing council, in needing the strength of His Father, in sanctification,  in ministering to people, in interceding for His men, at night, in morning, in daylight, prayer was the essence of His life. We see Him in prayer, in supplication, in agony, in tears, and we see Him also praying with great joy and expectation of His Father's will being accomplished. Our Jesus was a busy man, but never too busy to pray. He prayed often, He prayed alone and He prayed with others. He was continually dependent on the Father in prayer. He was  in complete unity and conformity with the will of God. When in the Garden, needing strength to complete the will of the Father, He prayed. And He received it.  He often rose a great while before the dawn to meet with the Father alone, to receive what He had need of for the day. As followers of Christ, our  intentional commitment to early morning prayer, continual prayer and much prayer should be the order of the day. If we are too busy to pray, we are too busy. And our busy lives are fruitless without prayer! We are weak without prayer, but much prayer brings much strength. As followers of Christ, let's follow Him in His habit of receiving strength through prayer.  "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

Lifewords strength to strength series 18 of 30

 

lifewords  strength to strength series 18/30  the great exchange, our weakness for His strength Yesterday's lifewords focused on how our place of greatest weakness is an opportunity for us to completely rely on God's strength. Today I want to share these amazing words from Watchman Nee which help us to understand 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 even better.   "God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker. That is surely rather a peculiar way of victory, you say; but it is the divine way. God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man but by crucifying him; not by helping him to do anything, but by removing him from the scene of action."- Watchman Nee   2 Corinthians 12:9-10  "He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you,  for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,  that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,  in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."      Don't give up  or get discouraged because you feel weak or inadequate. You are at  just the right place!! Understand that this is the moment that you can  choose to submit to the process designed by God in your life for you to decrease so He can increase! Your weakness will be the very opportunity for His victory. In your weakness, He is strong.  In your weakness, His strength is made perfect.  Your weakness is the perfect condition for His strength to abound. Real cool.  I love it.

Lifewords strength to strength series 17 of 30...when I'm weak, He is strong

 

lifewords strength to strength series 17 of 30 when I'm weak, He is strong Good news for you today, if, like me, you feel in anyway weak, insufficient, or unable.......you are in the perfect place to rely fully in the grace and strength of our Lord!  Rest in Him, Trust in Him, recognizing your inadequacy in yourself.  It's never about our great abilities, it's about yielding to His power working in us and through us. His Strength can only be fully experienced in our weakness. He is more than enough, His unending supply of grace is sufficient!! Be glad in your personal inability and seeming limitations, because in that place of weakness, the power of Christ will work in you and through you.   Awesome!   2 Corinthians 12:9-10   "He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you,  for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,  that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,  in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Lifewords strength to strength series 16 of 30...abiding

lifewords strength to strength series 16 of 30 strength in abiding Jesus Christ is our All in All today. He is the All Sufficient One. He is the God Who is More Than Enough. He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, our God our Shield . . . our STRENGTH. (Psalm 18:2) Psalm 27:1 says that "the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"  Psalm 73:26 My flesh and heart my fail; but God is the strength of my heart. He is our Strength. We can learn the lesson of the branch, abiding in Him, and His strength will be ours. Jesus instructs us in John 15 "Abide in Me, and I in You . . . . am the Vine; you are the branches, Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."  Abiding in the Lord is a learned skill, available to all. Here are a few things about abiding. 1. The Teacher of this skill is the Holy Spirit. We can ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to abide in the Lord day by day, moment by moment.... and He will.  2. Remember that Jesus is the Word of God. As we abide, dwell in, spend time in the Word, we are abiding in Him. Make God's Word the priority of your life and give yourself to the study and meditation of it.  3. Abiding in Him is Worshiping Him. A lifestyle of worship is a lifestyle of abiding. 4.  Abiding in Him is through a habit of prayer. Praying without ceasing is abiding without ceasing  5. Abiding in Him is learning to obey Him in all, yielding to His leading. 6. Abiding in Him is being engaged in that which is most important to Him...loving people, He came to seek and save that which was lost. He came to destroy the works of the enemy on this earth. He came to bring the love of the Father to earth and reconcile man back to fellowship with Him. The more you give yourself to ministering to others, the more you will learn abiding. 7.  If He is the Head of the Church and we, the Church, are the Body, abiding in Him also means that as we connect ourselves to the Body of Christ with other believers, we are abiding in Him. One Body. Abide in the Lord today, He is YOUR STRENGTH without measure.

Lifewords strength to strength series 15 of 30...3.24.12

lifewords strength to strength series 15 of 30 March 24, 2012 Strength and JOY! It's so wonderful to meditate on Nehemiah 8:10 today. "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." His joy transcends circumstances. It bulldozes emotions. It keeps our faith airborne.  It lifts us a smidge above the circumstances and obstacles of our lives just like an eagle soaring up over the rooftops to a place where we can see from a different vantage point.  Joy is key today.  Not fake joy, but the Joy that comes with an abiding relationship with our Lord, a habit of renewing our minds with His Word and a heart of worship.  Here are some living promises concerning JOY for you to feast on today. Don't let your joy level drop, check up on it, because if you've got little joy, you've got little strength.  But with much joy, is much strength in God. Jr. 15:15: Your Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. John 15:11  "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." John 16:24 "Until now, you have asked nothing in My Name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." 1 Peter 1:8 Yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Acts 2:28: You will make me full of joy in Your presence. Romans 14:1;7 The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Psalm 21:6  You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence. Psalm 30:11:  You turned my mourning into dancing..... and clothed me with gladness. Psalm  16:11 In Your presence is fullness of JOY. Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, HE has covered me with the robe of righteousness. Psalm 30:5: Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning. Your JOY is in HIM! Whatever you do, don't let anyone steal your joy today!  Laugh out loud as much as possible!

Lifewords strength to strength series 14 of 30 passing through

 

lifewords  strength to strength series 14 of 30 Thursday, March 22, 2012  Passing through     I pray Psalm 84:5-7 will bring you as much joy as it brought to me this morning! I read it 20 times quietly and 20 times out loud, stopping to meditate on the sections. My weakness has been overwhelmed by HIS STRENGTH!!!!!!!   5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, (weeping)    they make it a place of springs;    the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength,    till each appears before God in Zion. (NIV)   When we decide to pursue God's strength, we are blessed. What does it mean to have a heart set on pilgrimage? It means that we resolutely determine that we are going to keep moving in God's direction and finish the race set before us. And as we encounter the trials, the heartbreaks, the disappointments in the Valley of Weeping, we do not stop there, we PASS THROUGH. Have a good cry if you need to, but don't set up camp in the valley! Find your strength in God and keep passing through! It's in the valleys that our faith is developed. Don't waste your time spent in the valley......learn to trust, learn to praise Him no matter what, learn His Word, grow in prayer, learn to keep moving forward! If you keep moving toward the Lord, it will turn into a place of springs (Praise).   Don't be overwhelmed. Get a hold of the Word of God, the Promises of God and begin to say them out loud. Be intentional about this, plan to do it, make time for it. Put thanksgiving and praise in your mouth. Lift your hands to God in surrender and admit your bankruptcy apart from Him and cry out for His strength. Declare it when you wake up, when you eat breakfast, when you go about your day, when alone or with others, when you go to bed, Oh Lord I thank you that my strength is in You! Here is the promise. Right here in verse seven. When you do this, you will go FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH!!!

Lifewords strength to strength series 13 of 30 strength through praise

 

lifewords  strength to strength series 13 of 30 Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Strength through praise In Romans 4 is a wonderful account of Abraham, who is called the Father of Faith, and his journey of trusting in the grace of God while keeping His eyes fixed on the promises of God. Even against all hope in what he could see with his natural eyes, He believed. He did not waver in his faith, but grew strong in faith. When it came to the promise God had given him about becoming the Father of many nations, even though his own body was very old and "as good as dead" he did not focus on his natural weakness. This is a great lesson for us today! So many overwhelming and impossible circumstances surround us, yet we can focus on the truth of God's promises and we can grow strong in our faith, knowing that He who promised is faithful. Actually it says in verse 19 that even though he thought about, understood the fact that having a baby would be impossible, considering his age and the "deadness of Sara's womb" at her age, he did not become weak in faith. Faith sees the natural impossibilities, but believes the promise of God. I love verse 20 that says "Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able able perform." Another translation says this:"He grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise to God.." As He gave praise to God, He grew strong As He gave praise to God, He grew strong As He gave praise to God, He grew strong. Today we can see our faithful God and put praise in our mouth. We can lift our voice of praise and thanksgiving and worship to our magnificent faithful Lord.  We can lift our hands to Him and praise Him often. Spend time praising Him daily, and throughout the day, and in the night. If you run out of words, pick up the book of Psalms and learn from David, who knew well how to praise God. As we praise Him,  the weakness caused by our concern for our natural circumstances  and limitations is swallowed up by God's strength...Strength to believe for the impossible and live boldly for Him. Let's be intentional about our lifestyle of PRAISE!

Lifewords strength to strength series 12/30 Strength in Waiting II

 

lifewords strength to strength series 12 of 30 Monday, March 19, 2012  strength in WAITING II God bless you on this beautiful day that He has made, His mercies are new every morning and His love abounds to wonderful you! The Lord is teaching me the art of "waiting upon Him", before the dawn, Bible open, delighting to be with Him. He wants to renew our strength in Him, refresh, refuel, redirect...He is our All in All.  Not instead of worshiping, praying, serving, doing and contending on the battlefield of this life....but prior to all these and continuing to practice waiting upon Him during these things. Think about Psalm 23. Our Good Shepherd is leading us and caring for us today! "He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters." He wants us to develop a daily pattern of stopping in the green pastures of His presence, meditating on His Word and lingering awhile.  He beckons us to rest in the still waters of His grace and love, as He strengthens us, refreshes us and ministers to us.  Our Good Shepherd is leading us here, but we must choose to follow .  If we will  obey and follow Him, we can say with David, "He restores my soul." Oh how our soul needs to be restored day by day!  As difficult as it is sometimes, he desire us listening, receiving, meditating on His promises, being STILL and knowing that He is our God. He invites us from the clamor, business and battlefield of our life, to wait upon Him, receiving strength, wisdom, joy and a fresh infilling of His presence. In those green pastures and beside those still waters, our spiritual eye site becomes keener,  our wounds are healed, our attitudes get adjusted, fear is swallowed by peace, our weakness engulfed by His strength, our will consecrated to His. He reminds us that apart from Him we can do nothing, but with Him all things are possible. Let's learn the art of waiting upon Him first and we will discover how to live as a branch connected to the vine, bearing fruit that remains. Only then will we be able to live well, love well and finish well, all for His glory.  Best days ahead. amy.

Lifewords strength to strength series 11/30 Strength in Waiting

 

lifewords strength to strength series 11 of 30  Friday, March 16, 2012 Today I want to share a precious truth with you about the strength we receive from our Lord by waiting in His presence. Sometimes waiting is the hardest thing! It's easier for me to be doing something than waiting! But as we come before the Lord with humility, knowing that it is only from Him that we receive what we need, it is the greatest act of Faith. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us to learn the art of waiting upon Him, daily and during the course of our days. He will refresh us with His presence, impart HIS STRENGTH, deposit courage and download wisdom. Meditate on these verses today, say them out loud:    Psalm 25:4-5. "Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for on you I wait all the day long,..."    Is 40:29-31 "....but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."   Psalm 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry; He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."   Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...."   So many times I want to do all the walking and the running and then rest afterwards! But we can't get this out of order. We must learn to wait, listen and be still FIRST.  Oh How He delights for us to wait upon Him, with our Bibles open, our hearts open, trusting Him like a little child on the lap of her loving daddy or mama. There is strength in the waiting. There are times for us to call, to pray, to talk, to praise, to do........but there must be proportional times of waiting, listening, and being still in His presence. .   Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."The word implies looking to....with confident expectation. I want to learn to be still and know that He is my God. He is the God of my family, of His Church, of our land...He is God over every circumstance in our lives. He is the Captain of our Salvation, who will provide courage and strength for this journey, for the battle that rages about us. He will supply all, as we learn to WAIT. Teach us Lord, how to wait upon You.

Lifewords strength to strength series 10 of 30..3.15.12

 

lifewords strength to strength series 10 of 30  Thursday March 15, 2012 Psalm 119 is a very powerful meditation that will strengthen you in your journey this week.  I have discovered that the Lord daily strengthens me and revives me and rescues me from my anxieties as I meditate on His Word and delight in it.   Bring your Bible with you into your place of prayer and allow His Word to strengthen you, guide you, refresh you and infuse your prayer with power and faith. David knew what it was like to feel overwhelmed, in need of strength. Psalm 119:25 says "My soul cleaves to the dust;  Revive me according to Your Word.  Teach me Your statutes, Make me understand the way of Your precepts,  so I will meditate on Your wonders.   My soul weeps because of grief;  Strengthen me according to Your Word" Even though we might feel on the inside like we are cleaving to the dust, overwhelmed or sad, the Lord will strengthen us today as we spend time in His living Word. As we meditate on God's Word, it will become the inspiration for our praying. Andrew Murray is one of my favorite authors and mentors.  He developed an intense prayer life heavily saturated with the Word of God. This morning I've been thinking about what he said about prayer and God's Word.  "Little of the Word with little prayer is death to the spiritual life and strength of a believer.  Much of the Word with little prayer gives a sickly life.  Much prayer with little of the Word gives more life, but without steadfastness. A full measure of the Word and prayer each day gives a healthy and powerful life.  Our prayer time, no matter how intense, is never truly complete without the divine nourishment available only form God's Word.  The Word of God is the Christian's true prayer book.  It is our guide and foundation to effective praying. To neglect God's Word is to neglect God's power." Our Lord will revive us and strengthen us this day through meditating on  His living Word and prayer.I'm so thankful.

Lifewords strength to strength series 9 of 30..3.12.12

 

lifewords  strength to strength series 9/30  Monday, March 12, 2012   2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "The eyes of the Lord scan the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward Him and to strengthen them."    The Lord sees today.  He is searching back and forth throughout the entire earth for those whose hearts are perfect toward Him. New King James says whose hearts are fully committed to Him.  New Living says whose hearts are loyal to Him. But I love the NIV which says whose hearts are PERFECT TOWARD HIM. I love it because we can only have a perfect heart as we yield to His Lordship in our lives, knowing that He will create in us a perfect heart.  In Psalm 139:23  David prays a prayer we can pray often."Search  me Oh God and know my heart...."  We can pray  Psalm 51:10,  asking the Lord to  "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." How he delights in this prayer, and He will answer.   We look at our hearts and see our inadequacy. How can my heart ever be perfect toward God? But Oh the power of the blood of Jesus! We bring our sin, weakness, imperfections to Him. We repent and receive forgiveness and cleansing. We humble ourselves before God, trusting in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. Our Father forgives us and now sees our heart through the Blood of His Son.  We are in Christ. At that moment, we have a perfect heart toward Him. Not because of our own works, but all by our willingness to trust in His finished work. At that moment, all sin is covered, everything made new. And His searching eyes rest upon us. And He strengthens us with His Strength.  We can practice a continual habit throughout the day of asking Him to search our heart, reveal sin, then repent, receive forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9) and allow Him to create in us a perfect heart. We know that He sees us and will show Himself strong on our behalf and  will strengthen us with His Strength.  Awesome!!