With Uplifted Hands And With Shouts Of Joy We Will Praise You, Lord!

A few months ago, a guest minister was invited to speak at my church.  Her message to the awaiting congregation was spirit filled and impacted practically all in attendance as she expounded on effective ways to use God’s holy word when praying specifically for life’s situations.  For surely, as you know, one of the main ways God works in our lives is through praise and worship.

Do you want God to ‘show up’ in due season with HIS answers to your prayers?  Or do you abandon your partitions when you do not receive an instant reply?  Or worst yet…do you commence ‘helping’ God by taking the situation into your own hands?

Well, here is where I share with you a most positive method of how to partition God’s throne  whereby you cannot revoke your prayer request because you are not capable of doing so.  Here is what the visiting itinerant preacher had to say:

Begin your prayer time with God by imploring Him to do something for you as he has already proven he can do through scripture.  Pray the doxology prayer over yourself!

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance towards you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:21.

 When praying and/or conversing with God, make your statement then add one or two of these scriptures, incorporating chapter and verse:

“Dear Jesus, according to Ephesians 1:17, 18 and 19, I sincerely ask that You allow Your blessings to cover me with the spirit of wisdom, the hope of your calling and the exceeding greatness of your power as I attempt to lead your people on this awesome journey to…(name the place or situation here)

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“Dear Heavenly Father, just as it is written in Ephesians 3:16, I beseech Thee to keep me and strengthen me with Thy might and holy spirit and cause me to be routed and grounded in love…as I go forth in Your Name to…(name your situation here)

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“Most Holy and Everlasting Father, just as it is written in 1 Peter 1:4, I humbly approach Your throne to ask You to keep me from the corruption that is in the world through lust and pornography and to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of Your glory with exceeding joy as it is written in Jude 24.

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Are you getting the picture?  Okay, let’s continue…

Dear Lord, may your face shine upon me as I make your ways not only my ways, but also known upon the earth  as written in Psalms 67:2, and as stated in Daniel 12:3, and help me to turn many to righteousness, with a zeal for good works as so proclaimed in Matthew 5:16.

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Our Father which art in heaven, I come to you today on bended knee asking that you be gracious unto me so that I might receive all that pertains to life and godliness as the one you called the Rock has stated in 2 Peter 1:3.  I truly need your grace and mercy so that I might abound to do every good work and turn sufferings into the power of God’s love  down here on earth as it is in heaven according to 2 Corinthians 9:8 and 12-9.

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Dear Jesus, it is my everlasting desire that I may have fullness of joy in Your presence as recorded in Psalm 16:11 and that my total being may reflect Your countenance and magnificent glory just as it is written in 2 Corinthians 3:7, and that You will shower me with good things so that I might bring gladness to those Whom You have assigned to my hands and that You and You alone might be glorified in accordance to Psalm 4:6 and 7.

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Without a doubt, Heavenly Father, You are my Way-maker, my Peace as I am yoked to Your Son, Jesus Christ, just as it says in Matthew 11:29.  Because Your peace surpasses human understanding and overcomes all human fears as recorded in Romans 5:1 and John 14:27.  I pray this prayer in the precious Name of Jesus our Lord, Amen

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Okay, no doubt, some of you are thinking this method of praying is too hard for me.  I wont ever be able to remember which scripture matches which prayer request.  So, let me put your mind at ease.  Just take one suggested prayer request that best suits you.  Make your partition, short, sweet and sincere.   Pray this same prayer for 3 days.  You will be surprised just how much your brain (mind) can comprehend.  You will have it memorized in less than 3 days.  TRY IT…YOU”ll like it!

After mastering that conversation with God…try another one.  Keep this up for just 3 weeks and you will be armed with an arsenal of scriptures, an inspiring testimony that you can share and teach to others and a whole new way to converse and pray to God.

(And don’t forget to always give God all the praise, all the honor and all the glory.)  Amen!

Billy Graham once said: “God gave us the Bible, His Word, so that we may hear from Him. So that we can be challenged. So that we can be encouraged. So that we can be changed. Hebrews 4:12 is one of several passages in the Bible that explains the power of God’s Word.”

Scripture Lesson:  “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant manager…ME!   

Extend a Helping Hand – Pay It Forward

I learned something today.  It was amazing.  I had never thought of this ‘truth’ before.  This new eye-opening and informative statement caused me to wonder if others had somehow missed this fact, too.  Here it is…

“When the average person becomes a Christian, he or she is not necessarily thinking “horizontally” about what just happened–that they have agreed to be adopted into a new family of people.  Instead, they are usually thinking “vertically”—that is, looking upward towards a new-found relationship with the Almighty God and Jesus Christ.”

What is not realized at the outset is the fact that the Kingdom of God is like a composite of family members.  And that God ordained the creation of a new family community right here on earth made up with those who have become his followers–in the horizontal atmosphere.  Basically, the walls that contain the family is called the church; and the place without walls is the heart of the confessed believer.

ISN’T THAT GOOD NEWS!

Jesus’ first group of followers were also a community.  Better known as the 12 disciples or apostles, this group of men were all baptized, ate and prayed together, performed wonders and signs, and ministered to the people. (Acts 2:41-47)

What about you? 

Since your conversion, have you been responsible in introducing someone else to Christ?  I asked myself this question and without much hesitation, could recall several opportunities where the Holy Spirit had given me the unction to approach total strangers.

Once when I was eating alone in a restaurant, I noticed a young lady also eating alone seated not too far from me.  After a while, I introduced myself and invited her to join me.  I learned she had just relocated to my city and was looking for a new beginning.  What an opportunity to inquire if she was also looking for a new place of worship.  The conversation proceeded from there and ultimately, she became a member of my church.  The rest is history.

Last week I celebrated a milestone birthday with a grand party with a host of family and friends.  After reading an article in the AARP monthly magazine, I followed suit on what a reader and contributor to the magazine had done.  I read where she had given a sum of money to each party participant and had asked them to pay it forward.  As a result, she had received feedback from some of her guests with inspiring stories of gratitude.  I decided to do the same thing.

Since I had more than 80 party goers, I only gave each one a dollar and asked them to add to it if they so desired, but to pass it on by paying it forwarded with a blessing that God would be glorified.  For me, that turned out to be the highlight of my birthday bash.

You know, the older I get, the easier it becomes for me to keep the faith, to defuse doubt, to trust God, to entertain strangers, to find time to meditate, and to visit the doctors with reassurance that God’s got it!  So, in all of my getting, I am striving to get an understanding in the things of God that will bless his people in their going out and coming in.  My true desire is to pay it forward!  Amen!

Lord, Lest I forget, Lead me to Calvary….

Dear Readers, this weeks blog is a reprint of one I posted in May 2018.  The reason for this reprint is that I suffered some mild health issues that ‘way-laid’ me for most of the week.  I have been told by friends and family that I need to slow down and smell the roses and perhaps rethink my efforts of trying to be a “Super Woman” for the family of God in this life.

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT, THOUGH!  I’LL HAVE TO CHECK WITH MY FAVORITE MENTOR…JESUS CHRIST.  PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS SITUATION. 

Okay, in our efforts to be perfect we sometimes forget to put the “e” in the mix.

So What!  Just remember what is written.

OH LORD, HOW CAN I BECOME A SUPER WOMAN IN THE FAMILY OF GOD?

If you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them, I will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath.                                            Deuteronomy 28:13b-13a

BUT LORD, I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND.  FOR EVEN THOUGH I STUDY YOUR WORD MY HEART IS HEAVY MORE OFTEN THAN GLAD.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.                                 3 John 1:2

TELL ME, MASTER, HOW CAN MY SOUL PROSPER?

My child, it is written that the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in her.  Hebrews 10:38

HOLY FATHER, DO YOU MEAN THAT I AM PREVENTING MYSELF FROM DEVELOPING INTO  A SUPER WOMAN IN YOU BECAUSE MY FAITH IS WEAK?

Consider Abraham, he believed in me and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Therefore know that only those who are of  faith are daughters of Abraham.                 Galatians 3:6, 7

THEN ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD, DEAR JESUS, IF I INCREASE MY FAITH IN YOU, YOU WILL BLESS ME AND MAKE ME A SUPER WOMAN?

Surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.                                                Hebrews 6:14

OH, JESUS, YOU ARE SO GOOD AND SO KIND.  AND I PROMISE TO INCREASE MY FAITH AND DEPEND SOLELY UPON YOU IN EVERYTHING I DO.

Just remember,  faith comes not by your own might, but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.                            Romans 10:17

SO THAT I MIGHT UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY, MY LORD, LET ME REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID.  IN ORDER FOR ME TO BECOME A SUPER WOMAN IN YOUR HOUSE, I MUST LISTEN AND OBEY YOUR COMMANDMENTS AND YOU WILL MAKE ME THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL.

YOU ALSO DESIRE THAT I NOT ONLY BECOME A PROSPEROUS WOMAN, BUT THAT MY SOUL BE ENRICHED AS WELL. AND THE BLESSING IS THAT ALL OF THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED JUST BY INCREASING MY FAITH IN YOU.

That’s right, daughter.  And you should also remember that without faith it is impossible to please me.                            Hebrews 11:6

I KNOW WHAT FAITH IS, LORD, IT IS LIKE HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT AN INCURABLE SITUATION WILL GET BETTER EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW.

I say it a little differently…Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.           Hebrews 11:1

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THIS VISIT AND I AM DETERMINED TO PUT MY FAITH INTO PRACTICE AND NOT ALLOW SATAN TO ROB ME OF MY SUPERIORITY IN YOU.

Well said, my beloved, for the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.                                            John 10:10

 Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.wordpress.com every Friday for a new post from the Master’s servant Manager…Me!