Prayer of Grace

 

    To embrace grace it takes an open and prayerful heart.  You have to allow the Holy Spirit transform your heart by accepting the gifts from God and embrace how much He loves you.  Condemnation will steal the grace that God is trying to give you.  It comes from before your salvation.  After salvation, you have to let it go so you can live a better life with Jesus.

    Satan is the enemy of the mind.  He wants to keep you trapped by your past mistakes.  He wants them to cripple your ability to do good in the world.  You have to accept God's grace to be strong enough to move forward and not become arrogant in the process.  Embracing grace is removing the past's control over you and embracing the person that God is making you.  He makes you a new person, so turn away from the past sins and do better.

    Salvation has nothing to do with how good or bad you are.  It is about your faith and willingness to follow Jesus.  Your salvation gives God the glory and you the grace to be a part of His family.  Jesus sanctifies you, but you have to live it out.  Grace is a beautiful gift that will change your life forever.  Does your life represent the grace that God has given you?  Have you taken the time to really think about it?

    Pray to see the grace that God has given you.  Pray over how you can give grace to others so that they can see Jesus in you.  Pray that grace fills your heart so you can see people the way God sees them.  Ask for grace to enable you to forgive those that do not deserve forgiveness because God forgave you when you did not deserve forgiveness. Do not disregard what is good and pleasing to God.

Lamentations 3:22-24, Romans 6:20-23, Ephesians 2:4-10, 4:20-32, Colossians 3:12-17, & Titus 2:11-14

Gospel Prayer

 

    There is power in the Gospel.  If you prayer over the Gospel in faith, then you will be empowered.  It saves your eternal soul.  It also transforms your heart to live a holy lifestyle.  It sanctifies you in God's grace.  You only have to learn how to read and pray over it to apply to your life.  It all starts with faith and salvation.

    God's grace is the loving gift of salvation.  He shows you kindness to offer you adoption into His family.  He enriches your life.  He meets your physical and spiritual needs.  You have not earned nor deserve this, but He gives it freely to you.  All you have to do is accept His grace, then you will become worthy.

    Christianity is separate from any other religion because it is a living relationship with your creator.  It is based on love and life, not death or fiction.  Do you really understand how much God loves you?  Are you able to really accept and embrace being loved like that?  God's love is kindness not niceness.  It does come with expectations on how to live going forward.  That is why you need to pray over the gospel.  

    Prayer helps you learn how to forgive the unforgiveable.  It helps you love where your heart use to be hard.  It changes everything.  You pray when you are in pain.  You pray when you are angry.  You pray when betrayed.  You pray when you are happy.  You pray for protection.  You pray for love, forgiveness, and peace.  You pray in confidence because you know God is listening and cares.  He wants to hear from you and give you your purest heart desires.  He will give so generously that you will have plenty to share with other people.  You can learn how to pray for and over everything in the Bible.  

Psalm 4, 17:1-2, 20:4-5, 86:1-7, 2 Corinthians 9:6-9, & Ephesians 2:4-10

Pray for Freedom

 

    If you are a Christian, then you are a part of the church.  Can the world see the church in you?  Does the world see Jesus in your life?  To pray for the church is to pray for yourself and other believers.  You pray for people by name, but you pray generally too to cover what you do not know or see.

    If you are an active member of a local church, then you have people to hold you accountable.  Christians need each other.  Life is distracting.  The people in your church can help you stay focused on what matters.  They help you mature and become a disciple.  If you start to slip, then they are there to catch you.  If you do not have that at your church, then you need to look inwardly to see if you are the problem.  If it is not you, then you need to find a church that is Biblically sound.

    As a Christian you have certain freedom.  You are free to live without bondage, but that life should be righteous.  You should have integrity and do right by everyone to the best of your ability.  You need to pray for what is beyond your ability.  Sin enslaves you, so do not insult Jesus' sacrifice by turning back to it.  If you do sin, then do not avoid consequences.  Do what you need to to make things right with God and anyone you may have offended.

    Being accountable to God is freedom.  You don't have to go through anyone else to get right with God.  Jesus showed us how to be obedient.  The Holy Spirit leads you toward obedience with a right attitude.  It is your choice to do so in love.  Your freedom to follow Jesus is the mark of your Christianity.  

    You understand sin and what it means.  When you choose to avoid or flee from it you embrace your freedom.  Freedom comes with responsibility to step up and be a leader, do what is right, and serve God.  The Holy Spirit transforms you every time you enter into prayer and time with God.  It doesn't have to be hard work.  It is one step at a time.  Prayer holds yourself accountable to live freely like God always wanted for you.      

Leviticus 26:9-13, Psalm 119:41-48, Proverbs 16:17-21, Matthew 18:15-20, Luke 17:1-4, John 8:34-38, Romans 6:20-23, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, & Galatians 5:1-6

Prayer Partner

 

    Prayer partners are close friends that you can bare your soul to.  That means being completely honest and vulnerable.  You need to be able to tell them when you sin and take their response.  If a person responds judgmentally, then they are not your person.  They need to be able to call sin sin and not condone your sin, but they need to do it in love with the purpose of redirecting you.

    A prayer partner holds you accountable in your everyday life.  Your spouse should be a prayer partner, but you need people of the same sex too.  It is hard to be vulnerable.  It is one thing in the marriage, but to be vulnerable to people that are not bound to you in some way is more difficult.  It takes time to build a true relationship, so don't rush it just because you need a prayer partner.  Pray for God to bring the right person(s) into your life at the right time.

    As a prayer partner, you need to be a safe person for your person too.  They need to be able to confess to you and trust that you will not turn against them either.  Honesty is a form of vulnerability.  The gift of honesty is when it is kind.  You find a way to tell the truth in love.  You do not try to control the other person or situation, but you do not allow a lie to thrive.  

    Benefits of a prayer partner is having someone to pray for and over you in areas that you can't see in your life.  You do not have to struggle alone.  They help strengthen your faith and walk with Jesus.  They help you find healing.  You may learn better communication skills.  You don't have to feel alone.  You know if you need anything you have someone to call.  You are not left in the dark trying to figure out everything on your own.  Your business becomes their business because they care not because you owe them anything.  

    Ultimately a prayer partner gives you a healthy relationship(s).  If your are going down a dangerous path, then they will try to stop you.  They are willing to walk with you in the difficult times.  That alone makes them special.  Not everyone will do that.  They help you stay accountable to God, so that your walk stays strong.  They work with you not against you to do good.  

Job 6:14-30, Proverbs 11:12-13, 18:20-24, Isaiah 29:15-16, John 15:9-17, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Ephesians 4:28-5:14, James 5:16-18, & 1 John 1:5-10

Accountable Prayer

 

    Everyone needs someone to hold them accountable.  When it comes to living out your Christianity it is no different.  You need someone who knows you well enough to know how to pray for you without you explaining everything.  They have a different perspective than you in what is going on and can pray for you in a different way than you pray for yourself.  At the same time they make sure you are praying over everything too.

    Having an prayer partner can be a comfort.  They are not there to tell you what you want to hear.  They tell you the truth in love.  That means a true prayer partner is kind, not nice.  Nice people will lie to you to spare your feelings to make you feel good even if you are sinning.  If you do not have an accountability partner/prayer partner then you are more likely to play with fire.  No one can live this life out alone.  You need other believers and God.

    If you do not have a prayer partner, then it is time to pray for you.  You can have more than one, but you don't want it to become a large group.  Everyone cannot keep up with everything going on in everyone's life.  Jesus had 12 close disciples.  You are not Jesus.  You can try to have 12, but it is better to keep it five or less to really be invested.  It is also good if all in the little circle are friends and accountable to everyone in the group.  

Psalm 141:3-5, Proverbs 27:5-17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Galatians 6:1-3, Ephesians 4:14-16, Hebrews 3:11-13, & James 5:19-20

Imitate Jesus in Prayer

 

    When you imitate Jesus you are walking toward God in faith.  Your focus is on the eternal instead of the immediate problem.  You live in the moment to be able to love and connect with people where they are in life, but your soul is on the path toward eternal peace.  

    To pray in a way that imitates Jesus is to learn from the lessons he provided in the Bible.  You don't waste your time.  You learn to live with urgency to reach the world.  You pray over yourself, your needs, peace, other people, healing, salvation, and more.  

    Jesus had 12 really close friends.  They asked him to teach them how to pray and he did.  He did not need them for accountability because he is God.  However, Jesus made the 12 his prayer partners because he knew that they would need it when he was gone.  It is important for you to find a couple of people that will hold you accountable and be prayer partners for strength and intimate friendship.  

    There are only benefits from having prayer partners.  It develops close friendships that will be open and honest.  If they see you straying away, then they can call you approach it to bring you back.  Redirection comes from love and knowing you.  They help you learn from yours and their mistakes.  You have a trusted companion to journey with in your spiritual life.  

    If you do not have a prayer partner, then pray to God to bring that person into your life. It should be someone of the same sex, but not necessarily the same age.  It can be a discipleship opportunity too.  It will not come naturally.  You will have to invest into the relationship.  You will need to be committed to make it work.  You may go through trails together, but you will not be alone.

    Discipleship is a Biblical way to pave the way for another person.  You follow Jesus' footstep by teaching them how to pray and follow Jesus.  Your train them to do the same for someone else.  It is a sacrifice because you give of yourself and your time, but the impact you can leave on another person and the kingdom of God is worth it.  It also holds you accountable to be a mature Christian as you hold them accountable to follow Jesus.  Together you can live out your faith.

Psalm 145:4-7, Proverbs 27:17-19, 1 Corinthians 14:14-16, 11:1-6, & Hebrews 13:5-7

Hot or Cold Prayer Life?

 

    Prayer is communication with God, so your prayer life is the amount and quality of time you spend with God.  It is not you doing a monologue.  It is taking time to be still to listen for Him to respond.  It means that you are waiting patiently sometimes weeks, months, or years for your prayer to be answered.  While you wait you thank God for what He has done and look for His answer to what you are waiting on.  You do not forget and you trust Him not to forget.

    When God does respond it may require you to do something.  How will you respond to God?  Will you take heed and obey?  Will you say you have done enough and keep on the way things are?  Will you reject it all together?  

    You have a hot prayer life if you view God as your closest and most trusted friend in the world.  You go to Him about everything and love to hear what He has to say even if it goes against what you wanted Him to say.  A cold prayer life is not having one or if you do it is a list of request, demands, or spouting off your grievances with Him.  You don't care about what He has to say in return.  Prayer is a last resort or an afterthought.  Lukewarm is neither hot nor cold.  You are self-sufficient and do not need God, but you claim to be Him.  You are blind and naked, but you do not realize it.  Your prayers are indifferent.  

    When you have a hot prayer life you know how to use it as a warrior.  Your trust and faith turn you into a prayer warrior.  You use prayer to do go, give blessings, and fight against evil.  God provided you with armor if you are willing to learn how to use it to protect yourself from the unseen war that is going on around you.  Prayer is your most powerful weapon.  

    The amount of time you spend in prayer and God's Word reveals how much you need Him.  You are active in your prayer life even when life is good because you desire to be close to Him.  You understand that you can't do this life on your own and that all the good things come from Him.  He gives you grace when you did not deserve it because He loves you.  Will you love Him in return?  Will you humble yourself to grow in wisdom that comes from Him?

2 Chronicles 30:25-27, Ephesians 4:14-16, 6:10-18, Colossians 4:2-6, 1 Peter 3:7-12, & Revelations 3:14-22, 5:6-10