CALL ON THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“This is what The Lord says, He who made the earth, The Lord who formed it and established it; The Lord is His name: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great unsearchable things you do not know.’ ”  Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

EXPLANATION
These are the words of The Lord God which were spoken to the prophet Jeremiah and proclaimed to the people of Judah.  While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the prison, The Lord God spoke to him again.  He told Jeremiah to call upon Him and He would answer him and show him many great and wonderful things that he didn’t know.  The Lord knew that Jeremiah had questions that he had not asked.

APPLICATION

The Lord God told the people of Judah to circumcise their hearts. (Jeremiah 4:4)  The people who circumcise their hearts are truly God’s people, even the non-Jews. (Romans 4:9-12)  All believers can call upon The Lord God and He will answer.  We can call on Him for more than help.  We can also call on Him when we do not understand.  The most frequently asked question is “Why?”  We may not get the answer that we want to hear, but we will understand His answer better “by and by”.  We should not trust our own understanding, (Proverbs 3:5) but we should pray and get as much understanding as we can. (Proverbs 4:7)

A PRAYER FOR A LONGER LIFE IS ANSWERED

PROCLAMATION

“Then the word of The Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what The Lord, The God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.  And I will deliver you and this city …”  Isaiah 38:4-6 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Beginning in chapter thirty-six, the prophet Isaiah repeats some history of Judah and prophecies which were presented previously in The Bible Book of Second Kings. (2 Kings 20:5-6)  To recount the events which are referenced here, King Hezekiah got sick and became ill to the point of death. (Isaiah 38:1)  He consulted with the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was going to die.  Then King Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and wept, and prayed to The Lord. (2 Kings 20:2-3 and Isaiah 38:2-3)  Afterwards, Isaiah left the presence of the king but before he could get completely out of the palace, The Lord spoke to him and told him to go back to King Hezekiah and tell him that He heard his prayer and saw his tears, and that He would add fifteen more years to his life.

APPLICATION

King Hezekiah walked faithfully before The Lord with wholehearted devotion and did that which was right in the eyes of The Lord and He extended his life.  The Bible says that the days of our lives will be threescore and ten, seventy years old, but that could be lengthen or shortened. (Psalm 90:10)  The Bible also says that we can lengthen our days on earth by honoring our father and mother. (Exodus 20:12)  By honoring them we need to give them affection, reverence, esteem, obedience, and to give them assistance with the things that they need.  Here Hezekiah showed us that a good Christian walk and a prayer request can also extend our lives on earth.  We do not know the hour or the day when we will transition from labor to reward, but we now know that it is possible to get an extended stay here before we go home to heaven.

SOLOMON ASKS FOR WISDOM

PROCLAMATION

“Now, Lord God, let Your promise to my father David be confirmed, for You have made me king … Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people …”  2 Chronicles 1:9-10 (NIV)

EXPLANATION
After Solomon became king over all of Israel, The Lord God appeared to him that night and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  Solomon answered Him and said, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people …” (2 Chronicles 1:9-10)  His request pleased The Lord God and He told him that He would give him what he asked for and much more.  Thus, Solomon became the wisest man ever, in addition to becoming wealthy and honorable. (1 Kings 3:11-13 and 2 Chronicles 1:11-12)  The events in this chapter are repeats of the events presented in chapter three of The Bible Book of First Kings.

APPLICATION

The way that we speak to God today is through prayer.  However, we should be very careful with respect to the things that we pray for and ask The Lord God to give to us.  He hears and answers the prayers of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:8 and 15:29)  The sincere prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. (James 5:16)  Jesus, The Christ, said, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)  He told His disciples that everyone who asks will receive, (Luke 11:10) we just need to make sure that what we ask for will give God glory.  We will not receive that which is asked for with the wrong motives. (James 4:3)  We should not ask for anything bad to befall a child of God and we should not be selfish with our prayer requests.   Remember, Job was blessed with twice as much as he had only after he prayed for his friends. (Job 42:10)  There is power in prayer.

DAVID PRAYED BEFORE HE TOOK ACTION

PROCLAMATION

“He inquired of The Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines ?’  The Lord answered him, ‘Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’”  1 Samuel 23:2 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

While David was in hiding and fleeing King Saul, word came to him that the Philistines had attacked Keilah, a city in the tribe of Judah.  Before he took action, David prayed.  He asked The Lord God if he should go and attack the Philistines and save the people of God in Keilah. (1 Samuel 23:1-2 and 4)  Only after The Lord God answered him and said, “Go, …” did David take action.

APPLICATION

David knew what he wanted to do, but he prayed and asked for guidance because it was more important for him to do what The Lord God wanted him to do.  We can learn a lot from David.  All of our actions should be preceded by prayer.  “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)  We should pray before we act, and also before we speak.  We should pray to God about everything.  “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  We should make sure that our lives and actions are in line with the will of God.

RECEIVING THAT WHICH WAS PRAYED FOR

Proclamation:

“Early the next morning they arose and worshiped The Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.  Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and The Lord remembered her.  So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked The Lord for him.’”  1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The Book begins with an account of his parents, Elkanah his father and Hannah his mother who year after year had no children. (1 Samuel 1:1-2)  Elkanah had two wives but he loved Hannah and would always give her a double portion of whatever he gave his wife, Peninnah, and his sons. (1 Samuel 1:4-5)  Peninnah would ridicule Hannah year after year because she was barren and Hannah would become upset. (1 Samuel 1:6-10)  Hannah went to the temple and prayed silently while she was weeping.  The priest, Eli, saw her and thought that she was drunk because her lips were moving but she was not speaking. (1 Samuel 1:9-17)  The Lord God heard Hannah and answered her prayer and gave her a son.

Application:

There are times when we are going through periods of anguish, frustration, despair, sorrow, or suffering that we pray and ask The Lord God for something, and we promise Him that we will change our behavior if He will bless us with that which we asked for.  All too often, however, He blesses us and we fail to keep our promise to Him.  Here is an example of a woman who prayed during her period of distress and kept her promise when The Lord blessed her, even though keeping her promise meant giving up her son.  We should not take lightly promises that we make to God.  We should not only be careful what we ask The Lord God for, we should also be careful regarding what we promise Him.  He will keep all of His promises to us. (2 Peter 3:9)  We need to do a better job of keeping our promises to Him.  When we pray for things that will give God glory our prayers will be answered. (John 14:13-14 and 16:26)  Let us be grateful and honor our commitment to Him.

SOMETIMES WE NEED A THORN IN OUR FLESH TO KEEP US GROUNDED

Proclamation:

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with The Lord to take it away from me.  But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’”  2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  Paul begins this chapter defending his apostleship by boasting about the vision he was favored with. (2 Corinthians 12:1-5)  Then he states that in order to prevent him from being filled with pride and vanity, he was given a physical ailment which grieved him.  Paul asked The Lord God to remove it but the answer to his prayer was ‘no’.

Application:

The Lord God hears our prayers. (1 Peter 3:12)  Sometimes we do not get what we ask for because His answer to us is “no”.  Sometimes we ask for things which do not glorify God. (John 14:13)  There are times when He allows things to happen to us in order to get our attention.  We need to acknowledge Him in all things. (Proverbs 3:6)  We even need to see the silver lining in every storm cloud. (James 1:2)  Bad things which happen to us can work out for our good. (Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28)  In all things, we should give God glory.  His grace is sufficient for us.  His power can be revealed though our weakness.

THERE IS POWER IN CORPORATE PRAYER

Proclamation:

“Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that The Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.’  When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”  Acts 12:11-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that Herod had arrested some members of the church and was planning to execute them. (Acts 12:1)  He had James, the brother of John, put to death with a sword.  When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he had Peter arrested and planned to execute him after the Passover. (Acts 12:2-4)  While Peter was in jail awaiting execution, chained between two soldiers, an angel of The Lord appeared, released him, and led him out of the prison into the city. (Acts 12:6-10)  Peter initially thought that he was seeing a vision (Acts 12:9) but when he came to himself he realized that The Lord God had saved him.  Once he was outside of the prison, he went to Mary’s house where the believers had gathered and were praying for him.  They were praying for him but did not believe that their prayers had been answered. (Acts 12:13-17)

Application:

There is power in prayer.  Jesus, The Christ, said that men ought to always pray. (Luke 18:1) Prayer changes things.  There is also power in corporate prayer.  Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)  Great and wonderful things happen when the people of God are gathered together in one place and are on one accord.  Jesus said, “And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)  So, pray until something happens. 

POUR OUT ALL OF YOUR CONCERN TO THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“I cry aloud to The Lord; I lift up my voice to The Lord for mercy.  I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble.  When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way. …”  Psalm 142:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is a prayer he uttered when he was in the cave hiding from King Saul.  David poured out all of his concerns to The Lord and asked Him to have mercy upon him.   

Application:

No problem is too big or too small to take to The Lord God in prayer.  We should pray about all things. (Matthew 21:22)  The sincere prayer of righteous will be answered. (James 5:16)  If we are worried about something or desirous of something which is not in God’s will, then we need to pray that He will reveal to us His will and help us to align our will with His will. (Ephesians 5:17)

THE LORD DELIVERED ME FROM ALL OF MY TROUBLES

Proclamation:

“… I will praise Your name, Lord, for it is good.  You have delivered me from all of my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.”  Psalm 54:6-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  He began this psalm by praying to The Lord God. (Psalm 54:1-2) He wanted God to save him from his enemies. (Psalm 54:3)  He ends this psalm by stating that he will praise and thank The Lord for His goodness and for delivering him.

Application:

As believers we should not only pray and ask The Lord God for the things that we want, we should also anticipate them with confidence and behave as if our requests had already be answered and done.  The Lord knows what we need and what we want, and He has the power and ability to grant our requests. (Matthew 7:7-8)  If what we ask for will glorify Him, then it will be done. (James 4:3)

BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO TRUSTS IN THE LORD

Proclamation:

“I waited patiently for The Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He sat my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear The Lord and put their trust in Him.  Blessed is the one who trusts in The Lord.”  Psalm 40:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  Here David is praising The Lord for bringing him out of his troubles.  He may have been referring to the situation which had him so depressed in Psalm 39 that he cried out to The Lord. (Psalm 39:12)  Now he is acknowledging that The Lord heard his cry and lifted him out of his troublesome situation.  He knows that God has blessed him in more ways that he can count. (Psalm 40:5)

Application:

Sometimes it is not easy to consider all of the bad things that happen to us as joyful.  However, as believers we know that difficult situations which test our faith, help us to develop patience. (James 1:2-4)  Our troubles give us an opportunity to demonstrate our trust in The Lord.  After He has saved us from ourselves and our situations we ought to praise Him privately and publicly for blessing us.

HEAR MY PRAYER AND MY CRY FOR HELP

Proclamation:

“Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping.  I dwell with You as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.  Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”  Psalm 39:12-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are a song written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David began this psalm by saying that he would take heed to his ways and that his walk, behavior, and conduct would follow the ways of Christ and The Word of God. (Psalm 39:1)  He was not going to sin with the words of his mouth and to make sure of that he was not going to speak. (Psalm 39:1-3)  However, he did speak, and when he did, he prayed.

Application:

The Lord God hears the prayers of believers. (Proverbs 15:29)  All of us should pray because all of us are in need of God’s help.  Our situations, our specific troubles, trials, and tribulations, and our individual wants, needs, and desires may differ but we all need God’s help because there are things that we can’t do for, or by, ourselves.  Don’t give up and pray for this life to end.   All things happen for a reason and eventually they work out for our benefit. (Romans 8:28)  Don’t get so depressed by the storms of life that you forget that we are just travelling through this world on our way to our home.  We are foreigners here, we are in this world but not part of it, just as Christ was. (John 8:23 and John 18:36) 

O MAGNIFY THE LORD WITH ME

Proclamation:

“I will bless The Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth … let the humble hear and be glad.  O magnify The Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”  Psalm 34:1-3 (KJV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is a song of praise and thanksgiving.  David began this psalm by stating that he would continually praise The Lord, and then he invited the humble people of God to praise The Lord with him.  He prayed and The Lord heard him and delivered him out of his troubles. (Psalm 34:4 and 6)  When the righteous people pray, The Lord sees and hears them and He delivers them out of their troubles. (Psalm 34:15-19)  This psalm, like psalm 25, ends on a note of redemption for believers. (Psalm 25:22 and 34:22)

Application:

With faith in The Lord, we can overcome our human weakness. (Psalm 34:4-6)  Believers know that The Angel of The Lord surrounds those who fear Him, and He will deliver them from their troubles. (Psalm 34:7-9)  We should not speak or do any evil.  We should turn away from evil, do that which is good, and seek peace with our fellow man. (Psalm 34:13-14)  The eyes of The Lord are always upon us.  He knows our situations and He will deliver us from our afflictions. (Psalm 34:15-19)  All we have to do is believe in Him and trust in Him, and He will save us. (Psalm 34:22)  Oh, magnify The Lord with me, let us praise His holy and righteous name.

HOW LONG LORD HOW LONG

Proclamation:

“Look on me and answer, Lord my God.  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death …”  Psalm 13:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  It is believed that David wrote this psalm after his sin with Bathsheba while he was fleeing from his son, Absalom.  Four times he asks The Lord God, “How long …” (Psalm 13:1-2)  He feels that The Lord has forgotten him or is hiding His face from him.  David wants to know how long he will have to counsel himself and how long will his enemy triumph over him.  He is in distress and wants The Lord God to hear him and to answer him.  After he questions God, he prays and asks Him to give light to his eyes that he may see more clearly, that he may understand what is going on and know what he should do.  David goes from lamenting his current situation (Psalm 13:1-2) to rejoicing because he recalls that The Lord has dealt bountifully with him. (Psalm 13:5-6)

Application:

All too often, we tend to forget that The Lord God does things in His time frame and not ours.  When He does not immediately deliver us, or help us, we are ready to conclude that He has forgotten us or has turned His face away for us so as to punish us because of His displeasure with us.  The Lord never stops loving us, and He continues to bless us even though He does not like our sinful behavior.  If we would confess our sins and turn from our sinful ways, He would hear us and deliver us. (1 John 1:9 and 2 Chronicles 7:14)  Our problem is that we want to do what we want to, and that is not usually the same as what He wants us to do.  The question is not how long will God delay in answering us, but how long will we continue to disobey Him.  When Job repeatedly asked The Lord, “How long …” (Job 7:19, 8:2, 18:2, and 19:2) He finally replied by asking Job “Where were you when I …” (Job 38:1-41, 39:1-30, and 40:1-2)  After Job humbly replied that he was not worthy, (Job 40:3-5) The Lord God continued to question him. (Job 40:6-24 and 41:1-34)  The next time that you are tempted to question The Lord God and ask “How long …” you should read these chapters in the Book of Job.  We should also remember what He has already done for us.  Give God the praise, honor, glory, worship, and respect that He is due and deserves.

I SLEEP AND I WAKE AGAIN BECAUSE THE LORD SUSTAINS ME

Proclamation:

“But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, The One who lifts my head high.  I call out to The Lord, and He answers me from His Holy Mountain.  I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because The Lord sustains me.”  Psalm 3:3-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm of King David was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm deals with David’s predicament, his peace, and his prayer.  It is thought to have been written when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.  David knew that he had many enemies. (Psalm 3:1)  He also knew that The Lord God was his protection.  In his times of trouble David turned to The Lord. (Psalm 3:3-4)  He knew that God heard him cry out, and he knew that God would answer his prayers. (Psalm 3:4)  David knew that he could lie down at night and sleep in peace because The Lord God would watch over him, sustain him, and wake him in the morning. (Psalm 3:5)  David knew that from The Lord God comes deliverance and blessings. (Psalm 3:8)

Application:

We can learn a lot from David.  He was far from perfect, but he was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22)  We know that it is The Lord that shields us and protects us from our enemies, and from all forms of hurt, harm, and danger.  The Bible states that The Lord is “my shield” six times. (Psalm 7:10, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 18:35, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 119:114, and Psalm 144:2)  Six times The Bible states that The Holy Spirit of God “lifted me up.” (Ezekiel 3:12, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 8:3, Ezekiel 11:1, Ezekiel 11:24, and Ezekiel 43:5)  The Lord can lift us up in many ways, including physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, socially, and intellectually.  There are so many ways in which He can and does bless us.  It is The Lord God that sustains us and delivers us.  We know that The Lord hears and answers prayers. (Psalm 120:1)  We can have peace in the midst of a storm.  It is only by the grace and peace of God that we can go to sleep each night and wake up the next morning.  God grants a peaceful night’s sleep to those that He loves. (Psalm 127:2)  We ought to thank Him each morning for watching over us as we slumbered and slept, and for blessing us to see a new day.   

REJOICE GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYERS

Proclamation:

"Praise be to The Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.  The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.  Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever." Psalms 28:6-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of King David which were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After lamenting about his situation, David prayed for deliverance, then offered praise and thanks to God, even though his situation had yet to change.  David knew that God would hear him, strengthen him, protect him, help him, save him, and bless him, so he was joyful and thankful before anything happened.

Application:

After we pray, we should have faith, believe and behave as if our prayers have already been answered.  Our faith in God should allow us to know that He hears our prayers and that He will bless us because He loves us, not because we deserve it.  Let us exercise a little more faith in God with each passing day.  If we pray for rain, then we should go and get our umbrella because we know that the rain is coming.

THE POWER OF CORPORATE PRAYER

Proclamation:

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”  Acts 12:5

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  This was about the time when King Herod began arresting believers with the intent to persecute them.  He had James, the brother of John, publically killed with a sword.  When he saw that the Jews liked that, he had Peter arrested and planned to kill him during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.  While Peter was in prison, the church prayed without ceasing unto God for him.  Peter was chained between two soldiers, with two guards posted at the door.  Suddenly an angel of The Lord came to Peter, his chains fell off, and the angel led him past the guards and out of prison. (Acts 12:1-12)

Application:

There is power in prayer.  The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man produces great results. (James 5:16)  Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together in His name that He would be in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)  When the church is on one accord, there is power in corporate prayer.  All of the people of God in the upper room on the day of Pentecost were on one accord and they were filled with The Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1)  When the believers were gathered together on one accord The Lord God added to the church daily. (Acts 2:46-47)  When the people of God raised their voices together in prayer to God (Acts 4:24) He heard them and shook the place where they were and fill them all with The Holy Spirit so that they could speak The Word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)  Here the people of God were on one accord praying for Peter while he was in prison, chained to two guards.  As a result of their prayers, his chains fell off and an angel of The Lord led him safely past the other guards and out of the gate. (Acts 12:1-12)  When the people of God come together on one accord and pray, things happen, even the impossible things.  Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)  Our problem today as believers is that we are not all on one accord when we come together.  Our churches are more like a filling station where we receive The Word of God during worship services or learn more about it during Bible study.  We are not even on one accord even during our weekly prayer meetings.  We could be serious world change agents if we were on one accord when we prayed.  Collectively, we are only as powerful as our prayers.  "Little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power; no prayer, no power." (Author unknown)  Prayer, individual and corporate, can change things.  God still hears and answers the prayers of the righteous.

THERE IS POWER IN INDIVIDUAL PRAYER

Proclamation:

“After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks.  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.  At once all of the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”  Acts 16:23-26 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  While they were on their way to the place of prayer, Paul and Silas met a female slave who was possessed by a spirit which allowed her to predict the future.  She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.  She follow them for several days and kept shouting, “These men are servants of The Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  After a while Paul became annoyed with her and commanded the demon to come out of her and it left her.  Her owners realized that their money making source was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and took them before the authorities and accused them of advocating unlawful practices. (Acts 16:16-22)     

Application:
After seeing what happened, the keeper of the prison led them out, took them to his house, washed their wounds, fed them, and he and his whole family were baptized. (Acts 16:27-34)  God can make the impossible, happen.  He can make your enemies your footstool.  He can turn those who were beating you down into someone who helps you to move up a little higher.  Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)  He also said, "... All things are possible to him that believes." (Mark 9:23)  The chains of life’s bad situations can be broken and weeping can be changed to joy. (Psalm 30:5)  As believers, we are only as powerful as our prayers.  "Little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power; no prayer, no power." (Author unknown)  God still hears and answers prayers.

WE ARE SPECIAL PROTECTED AND BLESSED

Proclamation:

"I sought The Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and The Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of The Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear The Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing." Psalms 34:4-9 (NIV)

Explanation:
These words were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God. David was giving thanks to The Lord for saving him from his enemies. He states that those who encounter The Lord are not the same. And as for protection, Christians have a guardian angel with them. David knows that God is good and that He blesses believers and supplies all their needs.

Application:
Once we meet The Lord, we are never the same. After we accept Christ, we are given special status. We are changed instantly and we become new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We also get access to God who hears and answers the prayers of His saints when we call upon His name. (Proverbs 15:29 and James 5:16) We are protected by a guardian angel and we are blessed. He will supply all of our needs if we only believe.

MY PRAYER FOR YOU

Proclamation:

“For this reason I kneel before The Father … I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit … so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you … may have power … to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ … that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV)

Explanation:

Under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God the Apostle Paul wrote these words t the believers in Ephesus to let them know that he was praying for them.  He wanted The Lord God to bless them, to strengthen them, to dwell within them, to enlighten them and increase their understanding of the love of Christ.  Paul also prayed that they would be filled with the fullness of God, meaning that they would receive grace for grace from the fullness of Christ.

Application:

We are encouraged to pray, (Luke 18:1) to pray often, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to pray for each other. (James 5:16a)  There is power in prayer, especially in the prayer of a sincere believer. (James 5:16b)  Here we are encouraged to pray that God will strengthen those that we care about and increase their understanding of Jesus Christ and His love for us.  The only strength we have is God’s strength, and all wisdom and understanding are gifts from God.  We need His strength to stand by our Christian principals. (Psalm 29:11)  We are only truly enlightened when He blesses us with wisdom and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)  Only God and change a person’s heart so if you really want to help someone then pray for them. (John 12:40 and 2 Corinthians 5:17)  The more times I read these verses, the more I am convinced that as Christians, we should all pray this prayer for each other. 

WE MUST PRAY AND ASK TO BE FORGIVEN

Proclamation:

“Hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place.  Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive."  1 Kings 8:30 (NIV)

Explanation:

These written Holy Spirit inspired words were part of King Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple which had just been completed.  He asked The Lord God to hear His people when they prayed to Him, and to forgive them when they asked for forgiveness of their sins.

Application:

Christ died on the cross to pay the price for our sins.  However, to be forgiven for our sins we must repent, confess, and ask to be forgiven.  Christ came into this world to die for our sins. (John 1:29)  When Jesus preached, His message was that we should repent. (Matthew 4:17)  Our salvation is based upon our confession and our belief. (Romans 10:9)  The Lord God said that He would hear us and forgive us of our sins if we would humble ourselves, and pray, and seek Him, and turn from our sinful ways. (2 Chronicles 7:14)  If we want to be forgiven, we have to pray to God and ask to be forgiven, but first we need to humble ourselves, confess, and change our behavior, then He will hear and answer our prayer.