Study in Prayer

Scripture of the Day:   

Luke 22:45

“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Demonic Truth versus Spiritual Truth

As we continue our study in prayer, I want to emphasize over and over for you the importance of BELIEVING THE BIBLE over believing what any other person has to say. I don’t care if your doctor tells you that you only have a few weeks left to live.  You should just ask him, “So there is nothing else you can do?”

When he says no, then state a Spiritual FACT – “Then I trust God to do what HE says He will do…”  Then start quoting some healing scriptures… Praise God!

“Well, brother bob, that actually seems a little silly, don’t you think? I mean, after all, that doctor is trained in this field. He knows when there is nothing else that can be done… I’d look like a plum fool to say I was believing God for my healing when the best doctors and medical sciences says I’m going to die…”

It is belief like that which probably got you into this predicament in the first place. Maybe, just MAYBE, if  you would’ve gone to God and His Word at the first symptoms – you wouldn’t be in this mess right now.  BUT NOOOO – you sought the best advice from MEN rather than God.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love doctors and modern medical technology. If it were not for doctors and other medical staff – so many people would’ve died before they even had a chance to get born again. Amen.

But, let’s look at from a natural verses spiritual perspective for just a moment.

Who came up with all the latest ideas and concepts in modern medical breakthroughs? I guess a better question would be, who GAVE these people the IDEAS of the concepts and the WAY they would work on the human body?  That would be GOD, right?

Who created these bodies in the first place? God…

Who contaminated these bodies so they would start to die in the first place?  Satan…

Who established death in the body and death in the earth?  Satan…

Who overcame death in the body and death in the earth?  JESUS…

Who triumphed over Satan in all things?  JESUS…

Who took all the authority Satan had in this earth?  JESUS…

Who gave US that authority over Satan?  JESUS…

In whose name can we pray and watch every demon flee?  JESUS…

In whose name can we pray and believe sickness must flee? JESUS…

Do you start to see a pattern here? Amen!

There are two kinds of truth at work here.  Natural truth, based up on natural laws and consists of things we can see, touch, hear, taste and smell. Things that pertain to living in this fallen world.

Then, there is God’s Spiritual Truth – which supersedes natural truth. Supersedes natural laws. Supersedes what your five senses perceive and operates on a Godly plain that only God’s children can operate in.  His Truth is contained in His Word. “Thy Word is Truth.” Amen.

So, when you are faced with bad news like that…go ahead, ask the doctor, “So there is nothing else you or anyone else can do?”  When they say NO – Praise God!

Tell them, “So, I’ve been praying for years that when I die, I will get to see Jesus. You’re telling me that day is approaching! That’s Good News!  And, you know what is even better, Doc?  I’m still believing God for my healing – so when it happens NOW – it ain’t because of YOU – ALL PRAISE will be His. Bless God! This is exciting!  And, what’s the worst that can happen, Doc? I die like you said and immediately step into Glory with Jesus and I’ll be...

Scripture of the Day:   

1 Kings 8:28

“Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day…”

NEEDS verses WANTS

Yesterday, we talked about “believing you receive.”  And I gave a couple of examples that your NEEDS are given priority over your WANTS.  This is especially true when it comes to prayer.

You could have been praying for God to deliver you from financial oppression. And, truth be told, if you are honest, if your debts are out of control as compared to your income, it is usually because you lived beyond your means. You were spending today based on tomorrow’s income…and something happened to tomorrow’s income.

The pandemic shutdown your business or you lost your job. But the debts are still there and they debtors want their money.

Whose fault is it? Don’t blame the economy or China or the government. They did not tell you to incur the debt. If you did not have the debt, yes, you might not have that 84” flat panel TV to watch the Super Bowl on… but you would not have the debt for it either.

I’m not saying this to condemn anyone. I’m using it as an example of NEED verses WANT.

You WANTED the TV.  Now, you have a NEED for income to pay for it. If you would have saved $100 per month for several months, and then, if you still wanted it, you could have paid cash for it. But, you took immediate possession based upon several months of income in the future, which is now no existent.

OK, enough on that…on with my example. You need a couple of thousand dollars of income – Immediately – or the lights are being turned off and you will not have any food to feed the family. That is an immediate WANT. You may think you NEED it (and you do). But in reality, it is your fault you are in that position, right?

Now, let’s say you are out on a walk with your family and group of thugs surrounds you and is threatening to kill all of you.  They pull out their knives and they are getting ready to go to town on your family. You cry out to God…

How would you like it if God answered, while you are about to be attacked, with, “Ok – I’m going to give you what you want. Once you get home, there is a $1000 check waiting for you in the mail box… It took me several weeks to get the right people to finally wake up and send it…but it’s there.”

That’s what you WANTED right? The $1000?

OR – would you be praying for God to do an IMMEDIATE answer to a very REAL NEED that you have concerning the safety of your family?  Which one would you rather have God answer?

THE NEED for immediate deliverance, right?

You’re crying out to God, “PLEASE GOD, HELP US!”

And about 5 seconds later, a police car just happens to turn the corner.  The thugs see and start running. Now, the police are in pursuit…you and your family are safe.

Would that be God answering an IMMEDIATE NEED or your WANT based upon past mistakes you’ve made?

Which one would you prefer God answer?

I think everyone would agree the immediate need would be priority. You still WANT the $1000 and it is needful…but as far as BELIEVING YOU RECEIVE WHEN YOU PRAY – are you seeing the difference as far as how quickly God can answer a NEED and how the WANTS will come… it will come… in due time.

Again, God can answer immediately in all things. I’m not saying He will not answer. I have personally seem Him deliver me in a financial need. I don’t have time to go into here, but there was a check in my mailbox that was desperately needed. 

My wife and I went to the store and when we came back, out of habit, I looked in the mailbox and there was the...

Scripture of the Day:   

Mark 11:24

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Believe You Receive

We spent the last few days about how important it is for you to identify what you want, exactly, before you start to pray. We talked about the importance of knowing specific scriptures you can quote when confronted with a demonic attack.

I want to look now, at receiving answers to your prayer requests to God for the things you want. You can do this by simply believing the scriptures and the prayers you said actually worked. Notice I used a past tense on worked. Not that “they will work.” Not that “they are going to work.” But, when you prayed – they WORKED. The job was done.

“Well, brother bob, what if I don’t see the results.”

Let me ask you this.  Are you saved? 

“YES”

How do you know?

“Well, Jesus said I was when I asked Him to forgive me and come into my heart…”

Did you SEE any change your body? Did money start raining down from Heaven to help you financially? Did life suddenly become all sunshine and roses?

“No – but it did get better over time…”

EXACTLY! That is my point!

YES – some people will see an immediate event or change. Someone they prayed for will instantly be healed. Someone you pray for to be healed will die. Did God answer your prayer?

“No – they died…”

But – where did they go? Once they died, where did they go? If they were Christians, they went to Heaven, right? So they have received a Glorified Body and they will never be sick again!

“Yeah, but – I wanted them healed here…”

First, “don’t’ Yeah, but – God. Ok.

Second, what YOU want – was it backed up by scripture?  Did you find a scripture that said, “So and so will be healed and stay here?”

The answer is NO.

“But I don’t understand. You said to believe we receive and we could have it. I prayed and they died. I didn’t get what I wanted for the answer.”

This can quickly turn into a very indepth teaching…and I’m trying to keep this teaching short. We will go over this more in upcoming sessions. But let me say this…

Notice what you just said in regards to this example.

I wanted… I wanted them healed. 

Now, let’s go back to our scripture references. Remember, we are focusing all of our requests on scripture, right? That is the purpose of this training.

Matthew 6:32 says, “…your Heavenly Father knows you NEED all of these THINGS.”

Ok. So there are THINGS YOU NEED. Notice that…

He is telling us to ASK FOR THE THINGS WE NEED…

He expects us to come to Him in prayer, in the Name of Jesus, and ASK FOR THE THINGS WE NEED…

One more time… NEED.  Notice the words you uses in the example I provided… WANTED.

There is a difference between a NEED and a WANT.

I want a million dollars.  But do I NEED a million dollars?  Or would $1,000 meet my need that I’m faced with right now?

See the difference?  In the example I used about praying for someone who was sick and they died and went to Heaven. They are healed in Heaven and never will be sick anymore. 

You said you WANTED them Healed. But did you NEED them healed?  I’m not being cold and hard hearted here. Nobody wants a loved one to die. Even if they are 90 years old. Nobody wants that…but yet, these bodies and these lives are meant to terminate in the natural. Some in a matter of days, unfortunately and some many, many years later. 

That is why it is so important to get people born again and into the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ. That is why it is so...

Scripture of the Day:   

Ephesians 6:17-18

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

The Sword of the Spirit

In order to fight the good fight of faith, you must learn how to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Fighting the good fight of faith is speaking the Word out of your mouth that you believe in your heart.

This is why it is so important for you to keep up with this series on prayer. Every single day for an entire year, we will be building up the power of this Sword inside your spirits. You have to have the Word of God in your heart and be ready to use scriptures against demons when they try to attack you. You do not have time to say, “hold on a minute, let me get my bible…”

If a thief was breaking into your house, it’s too late to run downstairs in the basement and start lifting weights to build up muscle tone and strength you can wrestle him out of your home. You should have started preparing for that kind of attack years ago.

It is the same thing in the Spirit. You cannot go into battle without the proper foundation. 

My time as an officer in the Army Cavalry, we continually trained as if we were in war. Every time we would go out on field exercises, it was conducted under battle field conditions. If it was raining and storming, we still conducted the operations as planned. We used to say that we practices to be wet, cold and miserable – and became experts at it. Amen! 

Seriously though, spiritual warfare is not a “fair fight.” There is no such thing as a fair fight. Not in battle. Not as cop. I learned that if someone was trying to fight me on the streets of Baltimore, when I was wearing all of this gear, it was because they were trying to kill me. Period. If someone was trying to fight me that bad, I was now authorized to take any and all actions to protect myself, eliminate any threat to my life and those around me. If that involved discharging my firearm, so be it.

The point I’m trying to make is this, in the Spirit, the devil wants nothing better to do than to kill you. That way, you can go on to Heaven, and he doesn’t have to worry about you anymore. But if you stay, if you keep on living, you are a threat to his kingdom. You are a threat to the works of darkness in this earth. So, if he and his demons get a chance, they will try to take you out.

If you are not skillful at wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, you will be like a boy scout running onto Normandy Beach on D-Day with only your pocket knife. In other words, the devil and his demons will take you out.

But, if you are skillful in using the Word of God against the devil and his forces, it will be like calling in a tactical nuke on the devil’s position. They will FLEE and flee quickly. 

In the military, and as a cop, we had a “basic load” of ammunition that we carried with us. This ammunition and our weapons were always at the ready. They could be put into action in a split second. If a threat popped up, we could engage it in seconds. Literally. 

That is the way you need to be with scriptures. You need to be able to respond to any threat of the devil or any demonic power with a basic load of scriptures, that begins with “Devil, IT IS WRITTEN…and then blast away!” Praise God!

You need to have several scriptures at the ready for various situations. Healing,...

Scripture of the Day:   

Genesis 10:7

“Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return  her, you may be sure, that you and all who belong to you will die.”

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

It takes a little time sometimes to build the Word up in your spirit man. That is one of the reasons why we are doing this study on prayer each and every day this year. But you need to make sure you pray each and every day. It will, little by little, increase the POWER of FAITH that is within you.

If someone came to your home and was going to kidnap your family, hopefully – you would fight them! With everything you had inside you. You would use whatever weapons you could find and if you had none, you would use your hands, your feet and bite them in necessary.

You FAITH works the same way. Abraham was walking by Faith. He was going where he was being led by God and, in that day and time, there were marauders and kings would kidnap beautiful women for their harems. And Abraham was worried about that. 

Now, without focusing on Abraham’s weakness in asking his wife just to claim she was his sister, look at what actually happened here.  Did Abraham put up a fuss? Did he take matters into his own hands? Did Sarah say anything? NO.

Why?

Because they were trusting God to take care of the situation.  Do you think Abraham was talking to God about this? What about Sarah? I believe both of them were doing a lot of praying. Probably not the loud, obnoxious prayers you see people do “OH GOD – OH GOD” type of prayers… No… But I can almost guarantee you they were praying. 

And look at what happened, God answered. God intervened. God moved.

God went straight to the king and said, “Hey buddy…just what do you think you are doing with this man’s wife?”  

You see, if God says something belong TO YOU – it belongs only TO YOU.  If God did not intend for you have what He promised you – then He would not have promised it to you. God said Sarah was going to have a baby by Abraham. That should have been an end to any argument right there. I could continue down this path, but that is an entirely different sermon for a different day.

What you see in this example is someone, Abraham and Sarah, that are praying and they are trusting God to take care of this situation. Abraham was operating in fear, he was worried if the king found out Sarah was really his wife, the king would act quickly and kill him in order to take  her. But, by saying she was his sister, it bought him a little time. Time to pray. Time to take this matter to God. And he did.

When God intervened, notice He just did not convince the king to let him go. He made him a promise as well – IF you do not do this – every person in your family will be killed.  How’s that for an attention getter for a king?  

Not only did the king give Abraham his wife back, but gave him riches to pay for his trouble. INCREASE. Notice after this that the Bible says he became RICH in the land with cattle, silver and gold and servants, etc. Amen!

When GOD answers prayer, it isn’t like convincing some old geezer to give you a cough drop. Amen!  When God answers prayer, He not only provides for that need you are requesting, He is setting you up for future victories at the same time. You could say that the troubles you are going through that have caused you to pray – are actually training you to handle greater things later on. But you will be facing them with confidence because you have seen God come through before. Amen!

I want to...

Scripture of the Day:   

Luke 1:13

“But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you shall call him John.”

God Answers Prayer

First of all, let me emphasize, that God is not a respecter of persons.  What He does for one person, He will do for every person….we have His promise on that.  So, why doesn’t He answer the prayers of every person…?  It is up to US to get our Faith “tuned into” His Word.  

Despite what you may have been taught by well meaning Christian people, God is FOR you and NOT against you!  So many people for far too long have been taught wrong.  I had heard from as far back as I can remember that God was out to “get you” if you messed up!  That is totally, one hundred percent opposite the truth!

Where money is concerned, Christians have been taught that poverty is God’s way of humbling us.  That people in the ministry have taken a “vow of poverty.”  That if preachers do “get” anything, they have to give it away.  We have been taught that Jesus was so poor, he did not even have a home to live in (Luke 9:58 “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”).

Jesus came to show us how to be Blessed!  Poverty is under the curse!  Jesus came to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant.  Abraham was RICH!  Job was RICH!  David was RICH!  Solomon was RICH!  So why would Jesus be poor?  And, if he was so poor, why did he have a treasurer?  A poor man does not need a treasurer – a RICH man does!

Judas must have been giving A LOT of money AWAY!  Because at the last supper, when Jesus told him to “do what you need to do,” Judas got up and left.  The other disciples thought he was going out to “give money to the poor.”  So he must have done that so often that the other disciples did not pay much attention to him leaving.  This was after Jesus told them that one of the disciples was a traitor!  So any unusual actions by any disciple would have raised immediate suspicion. But Judas’ departure was just a natural part of their dinners, the other disciples did not think it was odd!

Christians have been taught for so long that “money is the root of all evil.”  But the scriptures do not say that. “The love of money is the root of all evil.”  (1 Timothy 6:10).

It costs money to preach the gospel. Just ask your Pastor the next time you see him!  If you are not on the church Board of Directors and just think you can show up and all is well…and you give your little offering thinking “others” will give and that you need the money more than the church does…you are WRONG!

Granted, God will make sure that ministries which are doing God’s work will be taken care of.  But, the responsibility falls to us!  God holds each of us responsible.  

We have been taught that God allows sickness, disease or calamities to happen in our lives in order to “teach” us something.  That is not scriptural.  Sickness, disease and calamities are covered under the curses – and we have been redeemed from the curses! (Galatian 3:13-14).

We have been taught that our children ran from God because of something we have done in our past.  We have been taught that our children must “find their own way.”  Both of these concepts are not scriptural.  It is our responsibility as parents to pray for our...

Scripture of the Day:   

Luke 22:46

“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. 

“Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Be Specific

First of all, let me emphasize, that God is not a respecter of persons.  What He does for one person, He will do for every person….we have His promise on that.  So, why doesn’t He answer the prayers of every person…?  It is up to US to get our Faith “tuned into” His Word.  

Let me explain it using this example.   You have a radio sitting on your desk.  It is turned off.  You hear nothing over the radio.  Does that mean there is NO radio station broadcasting?  NO.  It just means you do not have your radio turned on.  Radio stations are continually broadcasting over the airwaves.  

Now, you turn your radio on.  But all you get is static.  Does this mean there are no radio stations broadcasting?  NO.  It just means you have to “tune” into a station to hear the broadcast.  If you tune into a station that is broadcasting “Rock” and you wanted to hear “Country and Western,” you will be disappointed.  You MUST tune into the station you want to hear.

Do you listen to “Rock” and “Country and Western” at the same time and on the same station?  NO.  Each station has a particular “band width” they are broadcasting on.  You must “tune” into the appropriate “band width” in order to hear what you desire to listen to.

The same thing happens with God.  God is here, talking to us through His Holy Spirit, all of the time.  We just have to “tune in” to what He is saying.  If we leave our spiritual “ears” turned off – we miss what He is telling us to do in order to be Blessed.  If we are listening to the devil or the world instead of listening to God, we miss what He is telling us to do.  We are tuned into the wrong station!

How can we be sure we are listening to God?  How can we KNOW He hears our prayers?  Keep listening – I am about to take you through what I consider to be one of the most profound teachings on getting our prayers answered that you have ever heard.  I believe, with all of my heart and soul, that this teaching will “tune you into” God.  And, we have the promise of God, that if “we know He hears us, then we know we have the petitions we desire of Him.” 

I think we have gone far enough for today. I do not want to start the next section and then have to stop after just a few minutes. But we will pick it up here next time.

What I would like to do now – IS PRAY! Amen!

I want to pray for YOU today…

I want to pray for YOU to become a Prayer Warrior in the Kingdom of God. Amen!

Until next time, this is Pastor Bob Thibodeau reminding you from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in the Living Bible to “Always Keep on Praying!”  Be blessed in all that you do!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com

Scripture for Today:   

Acts 6:4 

 “We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word”

Ask – Don’t Beg

About 10 years ago, I published a book on prayer. It is called “7 Keys to Answered Prayer.”  A lot of this training will come from that book. It was written as a way to help you come to a realization that you CAN have your prayers answered. 

Have you ever wondered if God really “hears” your prayers?  I mean, how many times have you prayed and wondered if you said the “right” thing?  You have heard preachers say, “ask according to God’s will.”  So, if you do not get the answer you are looking for, does that mean you asked “out of God’s will?”

Can you go to God and ask Him to save your loved ones?  What about healing?  Is it possible to pray for healing?  Will God answer your prayer?  Can you ask God to Bless your finances?  Will He Bless your finances?   Is asking for money or prosperity “wrong?”

Why does it appear that others get their prayers answered, but you don’t?  Are they doing something different?  Do they have “greater Faith” than you do?  Does God love them more than He loves you?

I have found that God does answer prayer.  Sometimes, we just need a little help in seeing “how” He answers our prayers.  Sometimes we need a little help in “formalizing” our prayers.  That is not to say there is a specific formula that guarantees results.  But, if we can get our thoughts lined up with God’s Word, then that allows our Faith to activate.  And when we activate our Faith in God’s Word to do what it says….we are on our way to getting our prayers answered.

What you need to do is be SPECIFIC in what you are asking God for in prayer and then stand continually on the promises you find in His Word concerning answering your prayers.

This sounds more difficult than it really needs to be. But this is the purpose of our training. By the end of the year, and I really do not believe it will take you that long to learn this, but it will be reinforced throughout the year, but there will come that AH-HA moment when it all clicks. You will be a spiritual powerhouse of prayer. A prayer warrior, if you will.

And that is where we will pick up tomorrow.  Simply deciding what it is you want from God and then finding the scriptures that promise you those things. It is so important for you to understand what God has to say about your needs being met. But more importantly, how to approach Him in getting those needs met.

Amen!

Let’s Pray!

Until next time, this is Pastor Bob Thibodeau reminding you from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in the Living Bible to “Always Keep on Praying!”  

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture For Today:

2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Conclusion – Trust in the Lord

This last year, I’ve shared with you each and every day another aspect of prayer. The Lord had put on my heart to begin a daily prayer study on the different aspects of prayer and to conduct it each and every morning in 2021.

I’ve obeyed.

There were days when I did not feel like doing it. 

There were days when I may have been discouraged and wondering if anybody out there was listening.

There were days when I was busy.

There were days when I couldn’t wait to turn on the camera and microphone.

There were days when I couldn’t turn it OFF fast enough!

The point I’m trying to make is this…

Our job, not “my job” – but “OUR JOB” as believers and as children of “The Most High God,” is to pray and believe – and, most importantly, to OBEY.

When the Lord says, “Do this…” whatever “this” is or may be… it is our job to OBEY.

I learned that lesson many years ago with the radio station, “Evangelism Radio” (www.evangelismradio.com ). The success of the radio station astounded me. The format and layout and how it was all supposed to work was given to me by the Lord. And once we launched it, within two years, it was rated #1 in the world in the Christian Talk Genre by SHoutcast. com. 

I asked the Lord, “Why? Why me?” because I was getting invited to speak at churches about it, etc.  His response was, “You were not my first choice…” That shocked me… I felt offended at first… but then He continued and said, “You were simply the first to OBEY.”

I learned then, just like 1 Samuel 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of lambs.”

So, there you have it, to OBEY what the Lord says to do is better than your offerings. You cannot just “give money” and hope that everything will turn out alright. You need to OBEY what the Lord tells you to do. You good intentions mean nothing when you are not doing what the Lord says…

This nation, at one time, was the most blessed and prosperous nation on the face of the earth and in the history of man kind. But no more. Why?

Because we left from following the Lord as our God. We left our first love. We stopped lifting up Biblical values and holding elected leaders accountable to God. Instead, we started worshipping THEM instead of demanding THEY worship God.

We have allowed secularism and every other kind of “ism” to have prominence over the Word of God and Christian values.

Is there any wonder why our inner cities are over run with crime, drugs, violence, murders and ghettos? Is it any wonder why the same politicians who promise to change the world do nothing once they are elected, except make the same promises to the same people over and over again. And then are elected over and over again – but yet nothing changes for the better but only gets worse?

This nation is on the verge of destruction. If we are not soon taken over by our external enemies, Russia or China, we will be destroyed from within by our own internal policies that lift up everything except Biblical values.

To me – I don’t care. I really don’t. I have my future secure with Christ. I’ve lived my life. As the Bible says in Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I’m old and I’ve never seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging bread.”

Think about it…...

Scripture For Today:

Daniel 6:10

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”

As This World Gets Darker

This last year, I’ve shared with you each and every day another aspect of prayer. We’ve had some deep dives into what prayer is, how and why it works, how and why the Lord will honor your prayers and how and why you can expect to receive victory in your prayer life.

In a nutshell – it’s a communication method where human beings, you & I, can talk to, on a personal basis, the Creator of the Universe. Amen!

And, it is much more than that. 

Imagine if you were adopted into the Rockefeller family. But instead of being treated as an “additional family member” and looked at differently than their natural children, you were totally and unconditionally loved by the father. So much so, that he left you an equally share of the entire estate upon his death.

Imagine, if you will, that you could walk in, at anytime, with no appointment, straight into the inner sanctum of his office complex. Imagine you could just walk in and talk to him, share your problems and ask for advice; or just sit down and talk about how wonderful it is to be part of the family.

That’s how our relationship with God truly is – all because of Jesus.

But, it also goes much, much deeper than that example…

Jesus told us in Luke 21:10-28: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.  But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people.They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

 We see this being played